THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH 
IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 


H.  N.  MORSE 


BV  638  .M65  1922 
Morse,  Hermann  Nelson,  1887- 
The  country  church  in 
industrial  zones 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH 
IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 


AMERICANS  OF  TO-MORROW 

Tlie  AVomcn's  Boards  liave  in- 
itiated a  splendid  work  among 
tlie  forciRn-born  migrant  work- 
ers in  tlic  canneries  of  Har- 
ford County.  The  cliildren 
especially  are  beneficiaries  of 
this  work. 


COMMITTEE  ON  SOCIAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  SURVEYS 

TOWN    AND    COUNTRY    DEPARTMENT 

Edmund  deS.   Brunner,   Director 


THE  COUNTRY   CHURCH 
IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

THE  EFFECTS  OF  INDUSTRIALISM 

UPON  THE  CHURCH  LIFE  OF  ADJACENT  RURAL  AREAS 

AS  ILLUSTRATED  BY  TWO  TYPICAL  COUNTIES 


H.  N.  "MORSE 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
MAPS    AND    CHARTS 


NEW  y^SjT  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,    1922, 
BY    GEORGE    H.    DORAN    COMPANY 


PRINTED    IN    THE    ITNITEII    STATES    OF    AMERICA 


PREFACE 

TTTE  Committee  on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys  was  organ- 
ized in  January,  1921.  Its  aim  is  to  combine  the  scientific 
method  with  the  religious  motive.  The  Committee  con- 
ducts and  publishes  studies  and  surveys  and  promotes  conferences 
for  their  consideration.  It  cooperates  with  other  social  and  re- 
ligious agencies,  but  is  itself  an  independent  organization. 

The  Committee  is  composed  of:  John  R.  Mott,  Chairman; 
Ernest  D.  Burton,  Secretary;  Raymond  B.  Fosdick,  Treasurer; 
James  L.  Barton  and  W.  H,  P.  Faunce.  Galen  M.  Fisher  is  Asso- 
ciate Executive  Secretary.  The  offices  are  at  111  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York  City. 

In  the  field  of  town  and  country  the  Committee  sought  first  of 
all  to  conserve  some  of  the  results  of  the  surveys  made  by  the 
Interchurch  World  Movement.  In  order  to  verify  some  of  these 
surveys,  it  carried  on  field  studies,  described  later,  along  regional 
lines  worked  out  by  Dr.  Warren  H.  Wilson  *  and  adopted  by  the 
Interchurch  W' orld  Movement.     These  regions  are : 

I.  Colonial  States :  All  of  New  England,  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  New  Jersey. 

II.  The  South :  All  the  States  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line 
and  the  Ohio  River  east  of  the  Mississippi,  including  Louisiana. 

III.  The  Southern  Highlands  Section:  This  section  comprises 
about  250  counties  in  "The  back  yards  of  eight  Southern  States." 

IV.  The  Middle  West:  The  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan, 
Illinois,  Wisconsin,   Iowa  and  northern  Missouri. 

V.  Northwest:  Minnesota,  North  Dakota,  South  Dakota  and 
eastern  Montana. 

VI.  Prairie :  Oklahoma,  Kansas  and  Nebraska. 

VII.  Southwest :   Southern  Missouri,  Arkansas  and  Texas. 

VIII.  Range  or  Mountain :  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Utah,  Colo- 
rado, Idaho,  Wyoming,  Nevada  and  western  Montana. 

The  Director  of  the  Town  and  Country  Survey  Department  for 
the  Interchurch  \\^orld  Movement  was  Edmund  deS.  Brunner.  He 
is  likewise  the  Director  of  this  Department  for  the  Committee  on 
Social  and  Religious   Surveys. 

*  See  Wilson,  "Sectional  Characteristics,"  Homelands,  August,  1920. 

vii 


PREFACE 

The  original  surveys  were  conducted  under  the  supervision  of 
the  following: 

Columbia  County — Rev.  I.  E.  Deer,  State  Survey  Supervisor  of 
the  Interchurch  World  Movement  for  Pennsylvania.  The  county 
surveyor  was  Miss  Martha  Robison,  then  executive  secretary  of 
The  Columbia  County  Sunday  School  Association. 

Harford  County — Rev.  Charles  F.  Scofield,  State  Survey  Super- 
visor of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  for  Maryland.  The 
county  survey  leaders  were  Rev.  Wilson  T.  Jarboe,  for  the  white 
churches,  and  Rev.  C.  H.  Matthews,  for  the  colored  churches. 

In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1921  field  workers  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys  visited  these  counties,  veri- 
fied the  results  of  the  survey  work  previously  done,  brought  it  up 
to  date,  and  secured  additional  information  not  included  in  the 
original  study.  These  field  workers  were,  for  Columbia  County, 
Miss  Marjorie  I'atten,  and  for  Harford  County,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Hooker,  whose  manuscrii)t  reports  for  their  respective  counties  have 
been  freely  used  in  the  preparation  of  this  narrative. 

Special  acknowledgment  should  be  made  to  the  ministers,  county 
offtcers  and  others  in  these  counties  for  their  helpful  cooperation 
and  assistance  in  the  successful  completion  of  the  survey. 

The  statistical  and  graphical  editor  of  this  volume  was  Mr.  A.  H. 
Richardson,  of  the  Chief  Statistician's  Division  of  the  American 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company,  formerly  connected  with  the 
Russell  Sage  Foundation. 

\'aluable  help  was  given  by  the  Home  Missions  Council ;  by  the 
Council  of  Women  for  Home  Missions  through  their  sub-Committee 
on  Town  and  Country,  and  by  a  Committee  appointed  jointly  by 
the  Home  Missions  Council  and  the  Federal  Council  of  Churches 
for  the  purpose  of  cooperating  with  the  Committee  on  Social  and 
Religious  Surveys  in  endeavoring  to  translate  the  results  of  the 
survey  into  action.     Hiis  Joint  Committee  is  composed  as  follows: 

JOINT  COMMITTEE  ON    UTILIZING   SURVEYS 

(federal    Council,    Home    Missions    Council,    and    the    Council    of 
Wutnen   for   Home   Missions) 

Rev.  L.  C.  Barnes,  Chairman 
Rev.   Rodney   W.   l\oundy,   Secretary 
Alfred  W.  Anthony  C.  A.  Brooks 

Mrs.  Fred  S.  Bennett  C.  E.  Burton 


PREFACE 

Anna  Clark  C.  N.  Lathrop 

A.  E.  Cory  U.  L.  Mackey 

David  D.  Forsyth  Florence  R.  Quinlan 

Roy  B.  Guild  A.  E   Roberts 

Rolvix  Harlan  Charles  E.  Schaeffer 

A.  E.  Holt  W.  P.  Shriver 

R.  A.  Hutchison  Fred  B.  Smith 

F.  Ernest  Johnson  Paul  L.  Vogt 

Warren  H.  Wilson 


INTRODUCTION 


POINT  OF  VIEW 


THIS  book  is  a  study  of  the  work  of  Protestant  town  and 
country  churches  in  two  counties,  one  in  Pennsylvania, 
the  other  in  Maryland.  Its  purpose  is  to  show  the  efifect 
upon  the  country  church  of  two  conditions  which  obtain  in  much 
of  the  middle  Colonial  area.  The  first  of  these  is  the  industrial 
development  which  is  encroaching  upon  the  area  of  rural  com- 
munities and  which  is  outbidding  these  communities  for  workers. 
A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  these  counties  lie  in  the  great 
industrial  zone  of  America  which  would  be  enclosed  by  drawing 
lines  from  Chicago  to  Washington,  Washington  to  Boston  and 
Boston  to  Chicago.  Columbia  County  itself  has  been  invaded  by 
some  industries  and  is  situated  in  the  state  which,  though  one  of 
the  greatest  manufacturing  commonwealths  of  America,  has,  at 
the  same  time,  the  second  largest  rural  population  of  any  state  in 
the  Union.  Quite  apart  from  the  industrial  development,  this  eco- 
nomic background  has  affected  rural  life  throughout  the  Colonial 
area.  Of  secondary  importance  is  the  effort  in  this  study  to  indicate 
the  problem  which  arises  through  social  and  religious  cleavages. 
They  have  their  root  in  the  historical  background  or  the  racial 
strains  entering  into  the  make-up  of  any  given  population. 

The  study  proceeds  in  these  tasks  by  describing  the  interaction 
of  the  Church  upon  the  types  of  communities  found  in  these  counties 
and  of  these  communities  upon  the  Church.  This  survey,  therefore, 
does  not  attempt  to  deal  directly  with  the  spiritual  effect  of  any 
church  upon  the  life  of  individuals  or  groups.  Such  results  are 
not  measurable  by  the  foot  rule  of  statistics  or  by  survey  methods. 
It  is  possible,  however,  to  weigh  the  concrete  accomplishments  of 
churches.  These  actual  achievements  are  their  fruits  and  "by  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 

The  two  counties  studied  in  this  book  are  Columbia  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Harford  County,  Maryland.  Many  considera- 
tions entered  into  their  choice.  For  one  thing,  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  this  book,  while  complete  in  itself,  is  also  part  of  a 
larger  whole.     From  among  the  one  thousand  county  surveys  com- 

xi 


INTRODUCTION 

pleted  or  nearly  completed  by  the  Interchurch  World  Movement, 
twenty-six  counties,  situated  in  the  nine  most  representative  rural 
regions  of  America  were  selected  for  intensive  study.  In  this  way 
it  was  hoped  to  obtain  a  bird's  eye  view  of  the  religious  situation 
as  it  exists  in  the  more  rural  areas  of  the  United  States.  All  the 
counties  selected  were  chosen  with  the  idea  that  they  were  fair 
specimens  of  what  was  to  be  found  throughout  the  areas  of  which 
they  were  a  part. 

In  selecting  the  counties  an  effort  was  made  to  discover  those 
which  were  typical  not  merely  from  a  statistical  standpoint  but  also 
from  the  social  and  religious  problems  they  represented.  For  ex- 
ample, the  two  counties  in  the  Middle  Atlantic  States  described  in 
this  volume  were  chosen  because  they  are  representative  of  large 
sections  throughout  the  Colonial  area. 

It  is  recognized  that  there  are  reasons  why  exceptions  may  be 
taken  to  the  choice  of  counties.  No  area  is  completely  typical  of 
every  situation.  A  careful  study  of  these  counties  leads,  however, 
to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  fair  specimens  of  the  region  they 
are  intended  to  represent. 

All  these  studies  have  been  made  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  Church,  with  the  recognition,  however,  that  social  and  economic 
conditions  affect  its  life.  For  instance,  it  is  evident  that  various 
racial  groups  influence  church  life  differently.  Germans  and  Swedes 
usually  tend  toward  liturgical  denominations ;  the  Scotch  to  non- 
liturgical.  Again,  if  there  is  economic  pressure  and  heavy  debt, 
the  Church  faces  spiritual  handicaps  and  needs  a  peculiar  type  of 
ministry.  Because  of  the  importance  of  social  and  economic  factors 
in  the  life  of  the  Church,  the  opening  chapters  of  this  book  have 
been  given  over  to  a  description  of  these  factors.  At  the  first  glance 
some  of  these  facts  may  appear  irrelevant,  but  upon  closer  observa- 
tion they  will  be  found  to  have  a  bearing  upon  the  main  theme — the 
problem  of  the  Church. 

Naturally,  the  greatest  amount  of  time  and  study  has  been  de- 
voted to  the  churches  themselves ;  their  history,  e(iuipment  and 
finances;  their  members,  services  and  church  organization;  tlieir 
Sunday  schools,  young  people's  societies  and  community  programs, 
have  all  been  carefully  investigated  and  evaluated. 

Intensive  investigation  has  been  limited  to  the  distinctly  rural 
areas  and  to  those  centers  of  po])ulation  which  have  less  than  five 
thousand  inhabitants.  In  the  case  of  towns  larger  than  this  an 
effort  has  been  made  to  measure  the  service  of  such  towns  to  the 


INTRODUCTION 

surrounding  countryside,  but  not  to  study  each  church  and  com- 
munity in  detail. 

The  material  in  this  book  itself  will  present  a  composite  picture 
of  the  religious  conditions  within  these  two  counties.  Certain  ma- 
jor problems  which  were  found  with  more  or  less  frequency  in  both 
counties  are  discussed,  and  all  available  information  from  either 
of  the  counties  has  been  incorporated  in  the  discussion.  The  open- 
ing pages  of  the  book  give  a  summary  of  the  condition  within  each 
county.  While  this  method  has  obvious  drawbacks,  it  is  felt  that 
the  advantages  outweigh  them  and  that  this  treatment  is  the  best 
one  possible  to  bring  out  the  peculiar  conditions  existing  throughout 
this  area.  The  appendices  present  the  methodology  of  the  survey 
and  the  definitions  employed.  They  also  include  in  tabular  form 
the  major  facts  of  each  county  as  revealed  by  the  investigation. 
These  appendices  are  intended  especially  to  meet  the  needs  of  church 
executives  and  students  of  sociology  who  desire  to  carry  investiga- 
tion further  than  is  possible  in  the  type  of  presentation  used  for  the 
main  portion  of  the  book. 


ziu 


CONTENTS 

CIIArTEK  PAGE 

I     Where  the  Story  Begins 21 

II     Introducing  Columbia  County 27 

III  Introducing  Harford  County 32 

IV  Cooperative  Organizations 38 

V     Social  Considerations     . 41 

VI     A  General  View  of  the  Religious  Situation       .  49 

VII     Church  Equipment  and  Finance       ....  55 

VIII     The  Minister 61 

IX     Church   Membership 65 

X     Organizations  Within  the  Church  ....  74 

XI     Other  Forms  of  Religious  Work       .        ...  77 

XII     Service  to  Migrants 81 

XIII  "Par  Standard"  and  the  Program  of  the  Church  92 

XIV  Conclusions  and  Recommendations    ....  97 

Appendices 

I     Methodology  AND  Definitions       .        .        .  Ill 

II     Tables 115 


ILLUSTRATIONS,  MAPS  AND  CHARTS 

ILLUSTRATIONS 
Americans    of    To-morrow Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Where   Early   Settlers   W^orshipped 22 

The  Oldest  Church  in  Columbia  County    ....  24 

Of  English  Ancestry 25 

Farmers  of  the  Future 28 

Typical  Pennsylvania 30 

Industrialism  in  Columbia 31 

Main  Street,  Darlington,  Maryland 32 

A  Picturesque  Schooliiouse  in  Harford  County       .        .  42 

One  of  Columbia's  Many  High  Schools       ....  43 

Still  a  "Meeting  House" 47 

Aberdeen  Presbyterian  Church 49 

In  Memory  of  Early  Days 51 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Jarretsville     ...  52 

Serving  the  Community 53 

"Ring-around-a-Rosie" 75 

For  the  Foreign-born 78 

A  Colored  Church  at  Havre  de  Grace 79 

Migrants'  Living  Quarters 81 

An  Enlightened  Cannery  Owner g^ 

\^^here  the  Tomatoes  Meet  the  Cans 84 

Waiting  for  Teacher .87 

The  Lesson  Hour 87 

"Rurbanism" 99 

xvii 


ILLUSTRATIONS,  MAPS  AND  CHARTS 

MAPS 


PAGE 


Church    and    Community    Map    of    Columbia    County, 

Pennsylvania 29 

Church    and    Community    Map    of    Harford    County, 

Maryland 33 

Columbia  County,  Showing  Circuits 69 


CHARTS 

I    What  the  Average  Church  Member  Gives         .        .       59 

II     Residence  and  Activity  of  Church  Members     .       .       65 

ITT     Church    Growth    as   Affected   by  the   Amount   of 

Pastoral  Service 70 

IV     Churches  Classified  According  to  Residence  of  the 

Ministers 71 

V     Churches  Gaining  and   Losing   During  One   Year 

Period 72 

VI     Relation  of  Size  of  Church  Membership  to  Gain   .       72 


xvui 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH 
IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 


THE   COUNTRY   CHURCH 
IN     INDUSTRIAL     ZONES 

CHAPTER  I 
Where  the  Story  Begins 

IT  is  the  Middle  Atlantic  States  which  have  developed  the  most 
characteristic  forms  of  America's  religious  life.  Here  old  world 
models  have  been  modified  to  meet  new  world  conditions.  True, 
New  England  has  left  a  type  of  impress  upon  all  American  culture 
including  religious  thought,  but  the  first  American  home  of  most 
of  our  denominations  was  farther  south.  Thus  it  is  that,  while  the 
Middle  West  received  the  best  of  New  England  and  has  some  com- 
munities that  are  entirely  New  England  in  origin,  it  is  the  early 
churches  of  the  Middle  Atlantic  States  which  largely  dominate  the 
country  today,  so  far  as  form  and  polity  are  concerned. 

In  the  two  counties  with  which  this  report  deals,  we  see  much 
of  the  characteristic  strength  and  weakness  of  rural  religion 
throughout  America.  Here  are  liturgical  churches  rich  in  tradition, 
and  churches  wnth  more  meager  forms  and  a  more  flexible  type  of 
organization.  The  major  variations  of  rural  religious  experience 
are  represented  here.  The  religious  life  of  these  counties  is  the 
logical  product  of  all  that  is  most  characteristic  in  American  rural 
development.  Where  they  difl^er  from  others,  the  diflferences  at  root 
are  those  of  age  and  environment.  These  counties  are  old.  as  age 
goes  in  America.  What  seems  most  significant  about  them  is  that 
their  old  life,  long  since  crystallized,  now  finds  itself  beaten  upon 
by  all  the  forces  of  our  modern  industrialism.  They  are  in  the  heart 
of  our  greatest  industrial  zone.  Predominantly  agricultural — as 
probably  they  will  always  be — the  spell  of  industry  and  of  great 
cities  is  upon  them.  Their  economic  interests  are  becoming  more 
diverse.  Every  aspect  of  their  social,  institutional  and  community 
life  is  undergoing  change.  The  question  they  present,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  our  immediate  interest,  is  "What  will  be  the  future 
of  rural  religion  in  the  industrial  zone?" 

21 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 
Aristocratic  Refugees 

Fifty  years  before  the  settlement  of  Pennsylvania  was  begun, 
Virginian  traders  were  pressing  northward  to  establish  their  stations 
along  the  Patuxent  and  the  Chesapeake.  In  1632  Charles  I  created 
a  palatinate  for  Lord  Baltimore  out  of  the  region  between  the  Po- 
tomac and  the  fortieth  parallel  and  authorized  him  to  plant  a  colony 
there.  A  year  later  he  sent  his  brother,  Leonard  Calvert,  as  governor, 
with   "the  best  equipped  company  that   England  had  ever  sent  to 


WHERE   EARLY    SETTLERS    WORSHIPPED 
The    old     Friends'    ^Meeting    House   at    Darlington,    Maryland. 

America."  Their  avowed  object  was  to  provide  a  refuge  for  Roman 
Catholics,  though  protection  was  ofifered  to  every  Christian  sect. 
These  colonists,  200  in  number,  landed  at  the  entrance  of  Chesapeake 
Bay.  The  Indians  were  friendly  and  the  wigwam  of  the  chief  was 
ofifered  them  for  use  as  a  chapel,  the  first  Roman  Catholic  church 
established  by  the  English  in  America.  The  first  arrivals  were  soon 
followed  by  others  including  many  rich,  aristocratic  families.  Quak- 
ers and  Puritans  came,  and  people  from  France,  Germany,  Holland, 
Sweden,  ^'inland  and  Bohemia.  By  1675  there  were  25,000  inhabi- 
tants in  Maryland. 

blven  l)efore  the  coming  of  the  Catholics.  Protestant  colonists 
took  advantage  of  the  religious  freedom  offered  to  settle  in  that  part 
of  the  Palatinate  granted  to  Lord  Baltimore  which  is  now  Harford 

22 


WHERE  THE  STORY  BEGINS 

County.  Settlement  began  there  about  1650,  English  Episcopalians 
and  Quakers,  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  and  a  few  Germans  being 
the  first  colonists.  They  established  themselves  on  the  lowlands 
near  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  and  then  gradually  pressed  inland. 
The  new  colonists  prospered  from  the  beginning.  Quantities  of 
tobacco  were  sent  over  the  "rolling  roads"  to  the  seaboard  for  export. 
The  land  was  gradually  brought  under  cultivation  until,  by  the  end 
of  the  Colonial  Era,  practically  the  entire  area  was  settled.  The 
spirit  of  independence  and  self-government  early  asserted  itself. 
When,  in  1782,  the  county  seat  of  Baltimore  County  was  moved 
from  Joppa  to  Baltimore,  the  people  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county,  accustomed  to  a  representative  government  close  at  hand, 
demanded  and  obtained  a  county  organization  of  their  own.  This 
led  to  the  formation  of  Harford  County,  and  the  county  seat,  after 
much  debate,  was  fixed  at  Bel  Air.  When  the  dispute  between  the 
colonists  and  their  mother  country  became  acute,  thirty-four  Harford 
County  representatives  signed  the  first  Declaration  of  Independence 
on  March  22,  1775,  about  two  months  before  the  famous  Declaration 
of  Mecklenburg. 

King  Charles  Pays  a  Debt 

Pennsylvania  was  settled  somewhat  later  than  Maryland.  In 
1681,  Charles  II  granted  to  William  Penn  a  tract  of  more  than 
40,000  square  miles  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Delaware  River,  naming 
it  Pennsylvania  in  honor  of  the  elder  Penn,  who  had  served  him 
faithfully  as  an  admiral  for  sixteen  years.  Three  shiploads  of 
Friends,  mostly  from  northern  England,  set  sail  for  the  new  com- 
monwealth that  same  year.  Irish,  Welsh,  Dutch,  French,  Germans 
and  Swedes  followed  in  increasing  numbers.  A  contingent  of  Men- 
nonites  were  the  forerunners  of  the  great  German  immigration  which 
soon  made  that  race  the  dominant  one  in  the  colony.  Barely  four 
years  after  Penn  had  received  his  charter  the  province  held  72,000 
people. 

The  first  white  settlers  to  push  into  w^hat  is  now  Columbia  County 
were  Irish  Quakers.  They  chose  for  their  new  home  a  favorite 
resort  of  the  Indians,  the  lands  about  Catawissa  Creek.  This  was 
in  1774.  The  Friends'  Meeting  House,  the  oldest  church  edifice  in 
the  county,  wnth  its  quaint  log  walls  and  hand-wrought  nails  that 
defy  destruction,  is  still  used,  though  only  for  the  Yearly  Meeting. 
Not  long  after  the  arrival  of  the  Quakers  there  came  from  other 
parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  from  New  Jersey  settlers  of  other  na- 

23 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH   IX   INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

tionalitics,  chiciiy  Dutch,  A\'elsh,  Germans  and  Scotch-Irish,  who 
desired  rehgious  freedom  and  had  been  lured  to  the  region  by  its 
farming  possibihties.  The  county's  subsequent  growth  came  chiefly 
from  agricuhural  development,  but  was  accelerated  by  the  tapping  of 
the  coal  mines  and  by  the  thrifty  industrial  life.  The  brain  and 
brawn  of  the  men  of  the  county,  who  have  worked  slowly  but  steadily, 
rather  than  any  special  favor  of  Providence  or  any  sudden  industrial 
boom,  have  made  the  county  what  it  is  today. 


THE   OLDEST   CHURCH    IN    COLUMBIA    COUNTY 
The    Friends'    Meeting   House   at    Catawissa,   still    used    for   the   Yearly  Meeting. 


Geography  and  Religion 

In  subsecjuent  development  these  counties  followed  somewhat 
different  lines,  as  will  appear  from  the  succeeding  chapters  of  this 
narrative.  They  have  been  in  the  track  of  quite  different  movements 
of  population.  Harford  County  traces  its  descent  from  England  and 
the  north  of  Ireland.  In  Columbia  County,  the  importance  of  these 
strains  was  early  obscured  by  the  dominance  of  the  German  influence. 
Something  of  the  same  difference  has  characterized  the  religious  de- 
velopment of  the  counties.  Methodism  is  strong  in  both,  but  in 
Harford  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians,  Quakers,  Catholics  and  Epis- 
copalians of  English  descent  have  exercised  continuously  an  im- 
portant influence.  In  Columbia  County,  the  various  German  de- 
nominations are  a  major  factor  in  the  county's  religious  advance. 

Columbia  has  developed  within  its  borders  busy  industrial  cen- 

24 


WHERE  THE  STORY  BEGINS 


-*S-^.' 


l^. 


-r  '.i2^^ 


OF  ENGLISH    ANCESTRY 

These   two    Episcopal    churches    in    Harford    County,    at    Forest    Hill    and    Emmorton,    with 
their  quiet  graveyards,   might  belong  in  many  a  typical   English  village. 


25 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

ters  and  towns  of  considerable  size.  Harford  County  has  no  cities 
and  no  important  industries  which  are  not  more  or  less  directly 
related  to  agriculture,  but  the  county  is  well  within  the  area  of 
influence  of  the  great  urban  centers  of  the  East.  In  Columbia 
County  a  new  movement  of  population  has  recently  begun  which 
has  brought  in  elements  quite  unlike  the  earlier  stock,  chiefly  from 
the  east  and  south  of  Europe.  Harford  County,  though  without 
immigrant  settlers,  has  before  it  the  problem  of  assimilating  many 
newcomers  from  further  south.  It  has,  moreover,  a  large  annual 
influx  of  migrant  laborers,  most  of  whom  speak  little  English,  and 
also  a  considerable  negro  population.  In  Columbia  County,  the 
topography,  possibly  in  combination  with  the  racial  divergences  in 
the  population,  has  retarded  the  development  of  a  genuine  county 
consciousness,  in  consequence  of  which  social  life  centers  within 
rather  small  units.  In  Harford,  however,  the  county  has  assumed 
a  very  considerable  importance,  and  the  attitude  of  mind  which  is 
responsible  for  this  fact  has  inspired  the  development  of  coopera- 
tion. These  and  other  differences  make  the  counties  present  as 
many  contrasts  as  similarities. 


26 


CHAPTER  II 
Introducing  Columbia  County 

IF  Bloomsburg-,  the  county  seat  of  Columbia  County,  boasts  that 
it  is  "the  only  town  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,"  this  modest 
admission,  being  interpreted,  means  chat  it  is,  or  was,  the  only 
place  in  the  State  legally  incorporated  as  a  town,  and  a  certain  indul- 
gence may  fairly  be  accorded  to  local  i)ride  which  extends  the 
uniqueness  of  the  county  seat  to  apply  also  to  the  county  itself. 
At  any  rate,  in  a  state  renowned  for  its  natural  beauty  and  for  the 
wealth  of  its  people  Columbia  County  rather  more  than  holds  its 
own. 

It  is  a  comparatively  small  county,  with  479  square  miles  of 
rolling  hills,  fertile  valleys,  rich  coal  fields  and  heavily  wooded 
ridges.  The  Appalachian  coal  fields  encroach  upon  it  from  the 
northeast,  and  its  northwestern  sector  includes  some  of  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Allegheny  Mountains.  The  Susquehanna  River,  flowing 
in  a  general  sovithw-esterly  direction,  divides  the  county  into  almost 
equal  parts.  Numerous  small  streams  wind  in  and  out  through 
the  county  in  every  direction,  watering  the  soil,  furnishing  power 
for  manufactories  and  luring  fishermen. 

Highways  and  Byways 

Railroad  facilities  are  ample  and  convenient.  The  D.  L.  &  W. 
and  the  Pennsylvania  follow  the  Susquehanna  River  on  its  northern 
and  southern  banks,  respectively.  Various  branches  of  the  Phila- 
delphia and  Reading,  the  Lehigh  Valley  and  the  Pennsylvania,  and 
three  trolley  lines,  reach  other  points  in  the  county.  The  public 
highway  system  is  fairly  extensive,  but  of  the  1,206  miles  of  road, 
only  10  per  cent,  is  improved  state  road.  The  contour  of  the  county 
makes  road  building  expensive,  for  extensive  grading  is  required 
and  surface  drainage  is  always  a  problem.  In  recent  years,  much 
has  been  done  on  highway  improvement  but  more  remains  to  be 
done.  The  majority  of  the  roads  are  of  the  unimproved  dirt 
variety.  On  the  hills,  with  the  native  rocks  cropping  out,  such 
highways  ceased  to  be  popular  even  before  automobiles  became  as 
common  as  they  now  are. 

The  greatest  economic  resource  is  the  land,  although  there  are 

27 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

othcM-  iniporlanl  natural  sources  of  wealth.  Among  these  resources 
mining  comes  tirst.  During  the  last  year  for  which  figures  are 
available,  approximately  40,000  tons  of  anthracite  coal  were  mined. 
Bloomsburg  and  Berwick  are  important  manufacturing  centers. 
They  are  not  included  within  the  scope  of  this  survey,  except  in  so 
far  as  their  influence  aflfects  the  rural  districts.  Elsewhere  in  the 
county  some  2,500  men  are  employed  in  mining  and  manufacturing. 


l-AKMEKS    UK    TIIIC    1-UTURE 
Columbia's   younger   generation    learns   its  business   early. 


Buckwheat  and  Maple  Syrup 

Agriculture  is,  however,  the  chief  wealth  jjroduccr  in  Columbia 
County.  The  soil  is  varied  but  generally  very  fertile.  Buckwheat 
is  the  chief  money  crop  and  is  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 
Potatoes  and  wheat  rank  next.  Maple  syrup,  fittingly  enough  for 
a  buckwheat  county,  has  been  made  in  large  quantities,  but  is  a 
slowly  diminishing  resource.  Farms  occupy  barely  three-quarters 
of  the  land  area,  and  less  than  three-fourths  of  this  land  is  classed 
as  improved.  During  the  last  ten  years,  there  has  been  a  decided 
decrease  in  the  total  number  of  farms,  but  the  average  acreage  per 
farm  has  slightly  increased. 

The  census  of  1920  assigned  to  Columbia  County  a  total  popula- 
tion just  under  50,000,  of  which  slightly  more  than  two-fifths  is 
represented  by  the  combined  populations  of  Bloomsburg  and  Ber- 
wick.     In   thirty  years,   the  population   of  these   cities   has   nearly 

28 


—  KEY.  — 


Stole' ,r.  IMflei 


CHURCH     AND     COMMUNITY     MAP    OF     COLUMBIA     COUNTY,     PENNSYLVANIA 


29 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

trebled,  whereas  the  population  of  the  remainder  of  the  county  is 
less  now  than  it  was  thirty  years  ago.  Indeed,  industrial  develop- 
ment has  brought  the  only  considerable  increase  of  population  during 
many  decades.  Increase  in  that  part  of  the  population  wliich  the 
census  classifies  as  rural  is  due  to  development  in  mining,  lumber- 
ing and  industries  in  the  smaller  centers.  It  is  not  i)ossible,  from 
the  census  statistics,  to  segregate  the  strictly  farming  population, 
but  it  is  doubtless  true  that  its  numbers  have  steadily  decreased 
for  manv  vears.     A  considerable  increase  during  the  first  decade  of 


TYPICAL    PENNSYLVANIA 

The   Main    Street    of    picturesque    Orangeville,    which    is    a   typical    small    country    town    of 

Pennsylvania. 

the  century  in  the  population  classed  as  rural,  and  the  corresponding 
decrease  in  the  second  decade,  were  occasioned  by  the  same  fac- 
tors, that  is,  by  fluctuations  in  industrial  development.  The  de- 
crease, to  a  considerable  extent,  also  reflects  the  movement  of  labor 
from  farms,  and  the  decline  in  the  total  number  of  farms.  It  is 
not  likely  that  Columbia  County's  population,  outside  its  cities,  will 
be  greatly  changed  in  the  near  future.  Certainly  the  population 
peak  appears  to  have  been  passed,  and  some  further  decline  is 
quite  probable. 


The  Human  Ebb  and  Flow 

The  population  changes  of  recent  years  have  been  caused  chiefly 
by  economic  changes.     The  newer  elements  have  been  brought  in 

30 


INTRODUCING  COLUMBIA  COUNTY 

for  work  in  the  mines,  the  mills  and  the  factories,  particularly  at 
Centralia,  Berwick,  Bloomsburg  and  Jamison  City.  They  include 
Italians,  Slavs,  Poles,  Greeks,  Lithuanians,  Russians  and  Hun- 
garians. Poles,  in  considerable  numbers,  have  occupied  farms, 
especially  south  of  the  Susquehanna  River. 

The  topography  of  the  county,  much  of  which  is  broken  and 
some  of  which  is  movmtainous,  the  industrial  towns  and  the  rather 
marked  racial  differences  have  combined  to  affect  the  number  of  dis- 
tinct communities  *  that  there  are  in  the  county.  While  these  com- 
munities vary  in  size  and  population,  on  the  average  they  are  small, 


INDUSTRIALISM     IN     COLUMBIA 
Yards   of  the   Lehigli   \'alley   Coal   Company   at    Centralia. 

with  less  than  fifteen  square  miles  and  1,000  people  to  a  community. 
There  are  thirty-one  communities  in  all,  beside  Bloomsburg  and 
Berwick,  four  of  which  are  primarily  industrial,  while  the  rest 
are  primarily  agricultural. 

In  general,  the  tendency  in  Columbia  County  seems  to  be  toward 
a  more  diversified  and  highly  centralized  industrial  life.  The  rela- 
tive importance  of  agriculture  decreases  as  the  dependence  upon 
cities  and  industrial  centers  increases.  The  agricultural  population 
falls  as  the  industrial  rises,  and  along  with  this  phenomenon  is 
observable  a  growing  racial  complexity  in  the  population. 

*  See  Appendix  I  for  definition  of  "Community." 


31 


CHAPTER  III 
Introducing  Harford  County 

HARFORD    COUNTY,   Maryland,    consists  of  442   square 
miles  of  fertile  soil  lyini^  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
^  vState,  hounded  hy  Pennsylvania  on  the  north  and  Chesa- 

peake Bay  and  the  Suscjuchanna  River  on  the  south  and  cast.  The 
county  is  well  drained  by  Deer  Creek  and  numerous  other  streams. 
The  surface   rises   from  low,  level  lands  along  the   Bay,  through 


MAIN     STREET,    DARLINGTON,     MARYLAND 

gently  undulating  sloi)es  and  hills,  to  rougher  and  steeper  hills  in 
the  northwest.  Hie  climate  is  mild  and  the  rainfall  is  abundant  and 
well  distributed. 

The  southeastern  part  of  the  county  is  served  by  the  main  lines 
of  the  Pennsylvania  and  the  I'altimore  and  Ohio  railroads  from 
Philadelphia  to  Washington.  A  local  road  running  north  and 
south  through  Bel  Air  furnishes  several  communities  with  an  outlet 

32 


A  jyv»tj/x/s/ott^ 


County   B 


darif 

Communittf    Boundartf 
'Neighborhood   Boundary 
Pariih    Boundary 
Por.sh  A   Ch«rch  Connfct.fig  bn 
Circyit  of   Pdfter 


KEY    AND    SYMBOLS 

•    Homfel 

®Town-o..i-  5.00O 
D   ChurcK  -Whitt 
I  Church -Col.r.d 

D   Church  -  lVhit«  with  Past<r'<  Rfudtnci 
Q  Church -Celcrffd. with  Paitor's  Rciidtnc* 


g>A 


Circuit 
:  Rriidrnc 


4  Poitor-,   Rri.<jrnc«  -ifhout  ChurchlHi.V 
4   Potion    RrsilKncc  mfhout  Church-Cotorol 
■  Abandooid    Church.      Q  Inccli.e  Church 
(S  Sunda.^  School  n.thout  Church  -V¥hit» 
B  Sunici^  School  t..fh««t  Church -Colorod 
n  Church  uain^  School    Sid). 


CHURCH     AND     COMMUNITY     MAP     OF     HARFORD     COUNTY,    MARYLAND 


33 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IX  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

to  Baltimore.    From  Bel  Air  bus  lines  run  to  Havre  de  Grace,  Aber- 
deen, Dublin,  Darlington,   Sbawsville  and  Baltimore. 

Always  an  important  adjunct  to  economic  development,  the 
public  roads  are  of  especial  importance  to  Harford  County  in  view 
of  its  position  on  the  main  highways  connecting  four  great  cities 
and  many  smaller  ones.  The  automobile  is  revolutionizing  the  life 
of  the  county.  Among  the  farmers  ownership  of  cars  is  fast  be- 
coming universal.  Much  of  the  marketing  is  done  by  truck.  A 
large  part  of  the  milk,  in  particular,  is  conveyed  to  Baltimore  in 
seven  great  cooperative  trucks,  of  which  more  will  be  said  in 
Chapter  IV.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  sentiment  in 
favor  of  good  roads  continues  to  grow.  The  combined  length  of 
the  State  and  county  roads  is  796  miles,  nearly  one-twelfth  of  which 
consists  of  State  road  of  asphalt  or  concrete  of  the  best  quality. 
There  are  also  many  miles  of  excellent  macadam  road. 

The  Cream  of  the  County 

Agriculture  underlies  the  economic  life  of  almost  the  entire 
population,  and  the  soil  is,  in  general,  very  fertile.  The  chief  crops 
are  vegetables  raised  for  canning,  grains  and  forage  crops,  the  last 
being  fed  largely  to  dairy  cattle.  Dairying  is  by  far  the  most  im- 
])ortant  agricultural  industry  and  brings  in  the  largest  returns, 
Harford  not  only  furnishing  Baltimore  with  two-fifths  of  the  milk 
that  is  used,  but  also  shipping  cream  to  Washington.  Truck-farm- 
ing has  developed  into  an  industry  of  considerable  importance. 
There  are  a  number  of  creameries  and  some  nineteen  flour  and  grist 
mills  scattered  over  the  county.  Dwellers  along  the  Chesapeake, 
especially  at  Havre  de  Grace  and  Lapidum,  are  employed  in  the 
fisheries.  In  the  shad  season,  the  fisheries  also  employ  a  number 
of  migrants. 

Something  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  total  land  area  is 
included  in  farms,  and  a  little  less  than  three-fourths  of  this  farm 
land  is  classified  as  improved.  The  total  number  of  farms  decreased 
somewhat  during  the  last  decade,  the  principal  reason  being  the 
segregation  of  a  large  tract  of  land  along  the  Bay  for  a  Government 
Proving  Ground  and  Arsenal.  To  make  room  for  the  Proving 
Ground,  150  large  and  productive  farms,  supporting  800  families, 
were  wiped  out,  while  the  Arsenal  caused  the  dispossession  of 
farmers  along  thirteen  miles  of  road.  Except  for  this  fact,  the 
total  number  of  farms  would  have  increased  within  the  last  decade. 
Predominantly,  tlie  farms  are  operated  by  native-born  white  owners. 

3i 


INTRODUCING  HARFORD  COUNTY 

Within  the  last  fifteen  years,  ownership  of  a  considerable  number 
of  farms  has  passed  into  the  hands  of  farmers  from  states  farther 
south.     The  rate  of  tenancy  is  low  and  decreasing. 

Harford's  Canneries 

There  are  important  non-agricultural  industries  in  the  county, 
but  the  most  important  industries  deal  with  agricultural  products. 
Chief  among  these  are  the  canneries.  Canning  began  to  be  an  im- 
portant industry  in  Maryland  about  1850.  In  1920,  this  state  led 
all  the  others  in  the  value  of  canned  vegetables,  and  among  its 
counties  the  foremost  in  this  particular  was  Harford.  There  are 
ninety-nine  canneries  for  vegetables  in  the  county,  and  they  are 
so  distributed  that  every  community  has  at  least  one,  and  two 
communities  have  nineteen  each.  In  a  normal  year  these  canneries 
employ  thousands  of  workers  for  periods  of  from  six  weeks  to 
three  months  during  the  summer.  In  1921,  owing  to  the  indus- 
trial depression,  hardly  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  canneries  were 
expected  to  operate.  The  chief  products  canned  are  tomatoes  and 
corn,  others  being  apples,  beans  and  peas.* 

Quarrying  is  an  industry  of  some  importance.  In  certain  sec- 
tions, fine  qualities  of  roofing  slate,  building  stone  and  flint  are 
found.  Havre  de  Grace  has  a  textile  mill  and  a  shipyard.  Here, 
too,  live  a  great  many  people  employed  at  the  Proving  Grounds, 
and  at  the  hospitals  across  the  Susquehanna. 

The  present  population  of  Harford  County,  which  is  wdiolly  a 
town  and  country  district,  since  it  has  no  cities  of  5,000  or  more 
inhabitants,  is  just  under  30,000,  only  slightly  exceeding  the  rural 
population  of  Columbia  County.  From  the  date  of  the  earliest 
Federal  census,  in  1791,  when  the  county  had  14,976  inhabitants, 
the  population  gained  steadily  until  the  decade  of  the  Civil  War. 
After  a  decline  between  1860  and  1870,  the  number  of  inhabitants 
increased  rapidly  during  the  seventies  and  slowly  during  the  eighties. 
For  the  next  two  decades  it  again  declined ;  but  since  1910  it  has 
recovered  lost  ground  and  made  a  small  advance.  The  gain  in  the 
past  decade,  w^hich  w^as  at  the  rate  of  4.7  per  cent.,  was  due  partly 
to  an  influx  of  farmers  from  states  farther  south,  and  partly  to 
the  opening  of  the  Government  Proving  Ground  and  Arsenal,  and 
of  the  Federal  hospital  across  the  river.  The  number  of  foreign- 
born  in  the  county  is  only  about  3  per  cent,  of  the  total  population. 

*  These  canneries  and  the  migrants  that  work  in  them  will  be  more  fully 
described  in  Chapter  XII. 

35 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

Negroes  constitute  nearly  one-sixth  of  the  whole  population,  a  some- 
what smaller  ])roi)ortion  than  twenty  years  ago. 


Social  Grouping 

To  divide  Harford  County  into  communities  having  in  common 
their  main  interests  is  not  so  simple  as  in  the  case  of  Columbia 
County,  From  the  beginning,  the  main  unit  of  government  has  been 
the  county:  schools,  roads,  enforcement  of  order  and  poor  relief 
have  been  administered  for  the  county  as  a  whole.  Natural  barriers 
like  Deer  Creek  and  the  steep  slopes  in  the  northeastern  and  north- 
western districts  set  apart  certain  areas,  but  liiniting  topographical 
features  are  not  general.  Formerly  some  of  the  main  interests  of 
the  people  centered  in  small  neighborhoods,  each  with  a  general 
store  and  post  office,  a  one-room  school,  and  often  a  church.  The 
pull  of  these  neighborhoods  has  been  decreased  by  improved  roads, 
the  automobile,  the  telephone,  and  rural  delivery  of  mail.  The 
scattered  one-room  schools  are  now  beginning  to  give  way  to  con- 
solidated schools.  As  the  importance  of  the  neighborhoods  has 
waned,  county  organizations  for  relief,  a  county  library,  a  county 
chapter  of  the  Red  Cross,  county  War  drives,  a  County  Grange 
and  a  county  Farmers'  Federation  have  emphasized  the  significance 
of  the  larger  unity.  Consciousness  of  identity  by  communities,  ex- 
cept in  three  instances,  has  always  been  slight  and  is  today  on  the 
decline. 

A  division  into  communities,  however,  is  necessary  for  this 
survey,  in  order  to  render  possible  localized  study  of  the  relative 
distribution  of  churches  and  population.  In  some  cases,  the  draw- 
ing of  community  boundaries  is  an  easy  matter.  Havre  de  Grace, 
Aberdeen,  and  Bel  Air,  the  county  seat,  are  clearly  marked  com- 
munities, each  surrounded  by  a  fairly  distinct  rural  area  in  which 
people  turn  to  that  town  or  village  for  the  satisfaction  of  their 
fundamental  needs.  Other  localities,  though  smaller  and  less  easily 
bounded,  yet  have  each  a  recognized  individuality,  and  provide  cen- 
ters for  wider  areas  than  are  generally  realized.  In  three  sections, 
groups  of  smrdl  neighborhoods,  though  without  a  community  center, 
share  common  interests  to  a  degree  sufficient  to  warrant  their  being 
mapped  as  single  communities.  In  all,  twenty-two  communities, 
varying  in  population  from  less  than  200  inhabitants  to  more  than 
2,000,  have  been  mapped. 

In  general,  the  tendency  of  Harford  County  is  toward  the  de- 
velopment of  a  highly  organized  agricultural  life.     It  is  not  likely 

36 


INTRODUCING  HARFORD  COUNTY 

that  there  will  be  further  industrial  development,  save  that  which 
its  agriculture  makes  possible ;  nor  is  it  likely  that  its  population  will 
greatly  increase  or,  in  the  near  future,  change  its  racial  composition. 
Agriculture  is  here  soundly  enough  based  to  make  steady  develop- 
ment probable. 


S7 


CHAPTER  IV 
Cooperative  Organizations 

COLUMBIA  COUNTY  is  not  so  far  advanced  in  cooperative 
organization  as  is  Harford  County.  A  successful  farmer 
described  it  as  still  a  one-man  county.  This  does  not  imply 
a  complete  lack  of  cooperative  spirit.  On  the  contrary,  in  at  least 
half  of  the  comnninities,  there  is  a  good  coc)perative  spirit  out  of 
which  organized  business  enterprise  may  ultimately  come.  Among 
the  farmers  themselves,  and  also  between  the  farmers  and  the  busi- 
ness men,  there  is,  generally  speaking,  a  cordial  relationship  as  re- 
gards both  trade  and  business  concerns,  and  their  mutual  partici- 
pation in  public  afifairs  and  social  activities.  In  addition,  certain 
definite  beginnings  of  cooperative  eflfort  have  been  made  with  a 
record  of  positive  achievement  and  considerable  promise  for  the 
future ;  but  organized  business  cooperation  is  noticeably  absent. 
There  is  little  cooperative  buying  or  selling.  Farm  business  is  con- 
ducted on  the  basis  of  the  individual  farmer. 

Friends  in  Deeds 

The  best  cooperative  work  is  being  done  through  the  County 
Farm  Bureau,  which  was  organized  in  the  summer  of  1915  at 
the  urgent  request  of  the  farmers  and  others  interested  in  agri- 
culture. The  services  of  a  County  Agent  were  obtained,  various 
surveys,  tests  and  experimental  projects  have  been  carried  through, 
dairying  has  been  stressed,  and  a  Cow  Testing  Association  organ- 
ized. As  a  basis  for  extensive  community  work,  the  county  was 
divided  into  seven  districts.  There  is  also  a  Home  Demonstration 
Agent  who  brings  information  and  instruction  in  home  manage- 
ment to  the  women.  This  work  was  begun  in  1917  as  a  war  meas- 
ure, and  under  efificient  leadership,  has  been  most  successful.  The 
Agent  reaches  as  many  rural  schools  as  possible,  giving  the  pupils 
instruction  in  the  preparation  of  food,  the  making  of  clothing  and 
the  protection  of  health.  During  the  vacation  she  works  with  the 
pupils  in  their  homes.  Special  projects  were  carried  out  in  connec- 
tion with  four  high  schools  which  were  selected  according  to  loca- 
tion, and  because  of  the  interest  of  the  school  and  the  community 
in  the  ])r()gram  proposed. 

38 


COOPERATIVE  ORGANIZATIONS 

Other  organizations  in  the  county  of  economic  significance  in- 
clude the  Granges  and  a  County  Fair  Association.  The  latter  em- 
ploys a  secretary  and  devotes  itself  to  promoting  the  county's  agri- 
cultural interests.  An  annual  county  fair  is  the  high  point  of  its 
program.  There  are  thirteen  local  Grange  organizations  with  a 
total  membership  of  more  than  1,300.  They  have  not  functioned 
so  directly  in  economic  concerns,  but  they  have  been  a  strong  factor 
for  progress  in  the  county  and  possess  considerable  social  importance. 

Harford's  Cooperative  Activity 

In  contrast  with  Columbia,  Harford  County  has  made  great 
progress  in  the  perfecting  of  its  cooperative  and  economic  organiza- 
tion. The  Grange,  which  is  of  about  equal  strength  in  the  two 
counties,  in  Harford  County  serves  as  a  unifying  county  organiza- 
tion. Its  local  branches,  in  addition  to  their  regular  and  very  im- 
portant social  and  educational  activities,  do  a  considerable  amount 
of  cooperative  buying.  There  is  no  county  farm  bureau,  but  in  its 
place  is  a  County  Farmers'  Federation  affiliated  with  the  State  or- 
ganization, which  in  turn  has  membership  in  the  National  Board 
of  Farm  Organizations.  This  County  Federation  includes  repre- 
sentatives of  each  farmers'  organization  in  the  county.  The  Federa- 
tion does  cooperative  buying,  and  last  year  was  expected  to  purchase 
about  1,500  tons  of  fertilizers,  making  possible  a  saving  to  the 
farmers  of  from  $5,000  to  $8,000.  Both  a  County  Agent  and  a 
Home  Demonstration  Agent  are  employed. 

The  Federation  has  been  influential  in  the  organization  of  many 
clubs.  There  are  thirty-eight  farmers'  clubs,  more  than  half  of 
which  include  the  farmers'  wives  and  children.  Twenty-five  boys' 
clubs  and  thirty-two  girls'  clubs  have  a  combined  total  membership 
of  over  1,000.  They  hold  meetings  monthly  at  which  talks  are 
given  by  the  young  people  themselves.  Among  Maryland  boys  com- 
peting for  State  premiums  two  years  ago,  Harford  boys  won  first 
place  for  potatoes,  second  for  pigs,  fourth  for  corn.  In  1920,  these 
boys  won  $1,491   in  premiums. 

The  Jersey  Cattle  Club  has  an  annual  field  day,  besides  regular 
instructional  meetings.  The  Harford  Berkshire  Club,  the  Harford 
Duroc  Association  and  the  Sheep  Growers'  Association  are  all 
active.  The  South  Harford  Tomato  Growers'  Association  was  in 
the  year  of  the  survey  (1921)  much  less  active  than  formerly  be- 
cause of  a  slump  in  the  market  for  canned  tomatoes. 

S9 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 
Justified  by  Results 

There  are  also  a  number  of  distinctively  business  organizations 
of  a  cooperative  character,  which  apply  the  principle  of  coopera- 
tion exemplified  in  the  activities  of  the  Grange  and  the  County  Fed- 
eration. The  northern  part  of  the  county  has  a  Farmers'  Supply 
Company  with  200  members,  with  branches  at  Pylesville,  Cardiff 
and  Delta.  This  company  buys  and  sells  farm  machinery  coopera- 
tively. Both  the  northern  and  the  southern  parts  of  the  county  have 
cow-testing  associations.  The  most  important  cooperative  enter- 
prise has  been  the  employment  of  cooperative  milk  trucks.  The 
earliest  of  these  truck  associations,  known  as  the  Farmers'  Coop- 
erative Association  of  Harford  County,  Inc.,  has  been  described  as 
a  model  in  a  publication  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture (Farmers'  Bulletin,  1,032).  Altogether,  seven  large  trucks 
carry  the  milk  of  nearly  350  farmers  to  Baltimore.  Generally  these 
associations  are  organized  on  a  strictly  cooperative  basis  with  one 
vote  to  each  stockholder.  No  one  can  ship  milk  without  holding 
stock,  though  a  few  who  do  not  ship  milk  are  stockholders.  In 
most  cases  the  cooperative  system  has  worked  successfully,  a  con- 
siderable saving  of  time  and  money  has  resulted,  and  the  production 
of  milk  has  been  encouraged.  Nearly  all  of  the  milk  shippers  be- 
long to  the  State  Dairying  Association. 

It  is  hard  to  say  just  why  cooperation  has  developed  in  Harford 
more  rapidly  and  extensively  than  in  Columbia  County.  Perhaps 
the  greater  racial  diversity  of  Columbia  County  has  been  a  retard- 
ing factor,  although  this  experience  has  not  been  general.  There 
is  a  greater  diversity  of  economic  interests  in  Columbia  County 
which  would  naturally  retard  cooperative  organization.  Harford 
County  has  long  been  accustomed  to  thinking  of  a  county  unit  and 
the  local  community  has  not,  generally  speaking,  been  a  definite 
factor,  which  would  also  make  easier  cooperative  organization  of 
the  kind  described.  It  is  probable,  also,  that  business  conditions  in 
Columbia  County  have  not  been  such  as  to  impress  upon  the  resi- 
dents the  necessity  and  desirability  of  cooperative  organization. 


40 


CHAPTER  V 
Social  Considerations 

ANY  county  in  whose  early  settlement  Quakers  were  a  con- 
siderable factor  is  apt  to  have  had  a  long  and  distinctive 
educational  history.  Schools  were  started  at  an  early  date 
in  the  two  counties  considered,  and  among  the  first  were  those 
managed  by  the  Friends.  Recently,  educational  facilities  have  been 
greatly  improved.  The  two  counties  have  developed  along  some- 
what different  lines. 

In  Harford  County,  whose  less  rugged  contours  make  the  entire 
area  more  easily  accessible,  there  has  been  considerable  progress  in 
the  consolidation  of  schools.  Although  the  county  still  has  many 
one-room  schools,  nineteen  such  have  been  replaced  by  eight  consol- 
idated schools.  In  each  of  the  five  rural  election  districts  of  the 
county,  there  is,  in  a  central  location,  a  modern  consolidated  school 
with  both  elementary  and  high  school  grades.  Transportation  at 
public  expense  is  not  mandatory,  but  may  be  ordered  by  the  Board 
of  Education. 

Educational  Efforts 

The  teaching  of  agriculture  has  been  stressed  in  all  rural  schools, 
at  least  two  periods  a  week  being  given  to  this  subject.  Constant 
efforts  have  been  made  to  improve  the  grade  of  teaching.  At  pres- 
ent, nearly  half  of  the  teachers  of  the  county  are  graduates  of  col- 
lege or  normal  school.  Health  instruction  receives  a  regular  place 
in  the  curriculum  of  both  elementary  and  high  schools.  The  Red 
Cross  nurse  examines  the  children  of  the  schools  as  rapidly  as  she 
can  cover  the  ground,  and  a  public  athletic  league  provides  for  the 
annual  examination  of  400  or  500  pupils  engaged  in  athletic  sports. 
The  high  school  enrollment  is  not  relatively  large,  being  now  about 
10  per  cent,  of  the  enrollment  of  the  elementary  schools,  but  it  is 
increasing. 

An  interesting  feature  of  the  educational  life  of  Harford  County 
is  the  important  place  that  is  taken  by  the  Parent-Teachers'  Asso- 
ciation. There  are  about  twenty  local  associations  which  have  just 
gone  through  a  process  of  reorganization.  A  county  committee 
assigns  the  oversight  of  each  school  in  the  county  to  some  individual 

41 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

member  of  that  committee.  These  organizations  have  raised  hun- 
dreds of  dollars  for  equipment,  and  have  labored  untiringly  to  im- 
prove the  rural  schools  in  the  county. 

In  Columbia  County,  a  somewhat  different  policy  of  educational 
development  has  been  followed.  The  condition  of  the  roads  and 
the  contour  of  the  country  are  partly  responsible  for  the  fact  that 
consolidation  of  one-room  schools  has  not  been  very  seriously  con- 
sidered.    In  consequence,  this  county  has  nearly  two  and  one-half 


A    PICTURESQUE    SCHOOI.HOUSE    IN    HAKFOUD    COUNTY 


times  as  many  elementary  schools  and  nearly  four  times  as  many 
high  schools  as  has  Harford  County,  with  about  the  same  area  and 
rural  population.  It  is  the  policy  of  the  school  administration  to 
close  out  the  smaller  schools  as  rapidly  as  possible,  that  is,  those 
which  have  been  left  by  changes  in  population  with  but  a  few 
pupils ;  but  no  general  policy  of  school  consolidation  is  at  present 
contemplated.  The  present  county  superintendent  has  been  long  in 
service  and  has  made  a  distinct  contribution  to  the  life  of  this 
county.  He  has  proceeded  along  the  line  of  not  only  improving 
the  quality  of  the  class-room  work,  but  also  of  making  the  schools, 
in  a  real  sense,  definite  influences  for  community  development. 

42 


SOCIAL  CONSIDERATIONS 

Nurseries  of  Community  Spirit 

The  community  interests  of  the  schools  have  heen  varied.  Around 
a  number  of  them  neighborhood  associations  have  been  formed,  with 
the  idea  that  uUimately  these  might  be  combined  into  community 
associations  and,  in  turn,  form  a  basis  for  a  county-wide  associa- 
tion. The  schools  have  cooperated  with  the  Sunday  School  Asso- 
ciation and  L'arm  Bureau  in  the  holding  of  community  institutes 
and  exhibits.  Each  year  three-day  institutes  have  been  held  in  a 
selected  number  of  schools  in  addition  to  these  joint  institutes.  Hie 
three-day  program  usually  includes  contests  in  school  work,  decla- 


ONE    OF    COLUMBIA  S     MANY     HIGH     SCHOOLS 

Columbia  lias  the   highest   percentage   of  High    School    pupils   to   population   of  any   county 

in    Pennsylvania. 


mation  and  other  features,  lectures  on  various  topics,  entertain- 
ments and  exhibits.  These  gatherings  have  touched  all  sorts  of 
community  questions.  They  have  had  a  large  measure  of  popular 
support.  Taking  it  all  in  all  the  interaction  is  stimulative.  The 
influence  of  the  schools  upon  the  community  life  has  been  unques- 
tioned and  notable,  with  the  resvdt  that  the  school  program  and 
curriculum    have    consistently    developed    along   practical    lines. 

Columbia  County  now  leads  its  State  in  the  percentage  of  high- 
school  pupils.  It  was  one  of  the  first  counties  to  take  up  vocational 
education.  The  vocational  school  at  Benton  has  as  yet  an  inadequate 
equipment,  but  makes  up  for  this  shortcoming  by  a  well-rounded 
curriculum  and  a  well-trained  and  enthusiastic  teaching  force. 
Mainville  had  the  first  consolidated  junior  high  school  in  the  State 

43 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IX  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

and  this,  by  the  way,  is  the  only  consolidated  school  in  the  county. 
Several  schools  have  especially  good  recreational  equipment.  At 
the  Catawissa  High  School,  the  pupils  themselves  raised  more 
than  $2,500  a  year  ago  with  which  they  purchased  twelve  lots  to 
be  used  as  a  j)layground.  Splendid  apparatus  for  play  has  been 
provided,  and  the  grounds  are  open  evenings  for  the  use  of  the 
pupils,  their  families  and  friends.  The  differences  in  emphasis  be- 
tween the  school  systems  of  the  two  counties  seems,  in  the  main, 
warranted  by  the  different  circumstances  existing.  The  schools 
have  an  increasing  measure  of  popular  support  in  both  counties,  and 
increasingly  identify  themselves  with  the  development  of  the  social 
and  recreational  life.  Probably  those  in  Columbia  County  have 
the  most  definite,  practical  importance,  and  are  making  their  contri- 
bution to  community  welfare  in  a  more  direct  and  unmistakable 
fashion. 

Rural  Reading 

Both  counties  are  inadequately  equipped  with  libraries.  In  Co- 
lumbia County,  Bloomsburg  and  Berwick  have  libraries,  but  only 
two  of  the  thirty-one  rural  communities  have  libraries  of  any  sort, 
one  being  a  traveling  library  and  the  other  a  school  library.  It 
does  not  appear  that  the  city  libraries  are  extensively  used  outside 
the  city  boundaries.  Harford  County  has  a  county  library,  started 
in  1913,  which  has  slowly  grown  through  the  efiforts  of  interested 
individuals,  until  it  now  contains  about  2,500  volumes.  There  is 
a  County  Ubrary  Association  with  some  200  members.  The  county 
commissioners  make  a  meager  allowance  because  of  a  rest  room 
attached  to  the  library.  The  headquarters  are  in  the  armory  at 
Bel  Air.  Any  one  is  permitted  to  take  out  books,  but  a  membership 
fee  of  fifty  cents  a  year  is  desired,  A  case  of  books  containing 
from  thirty-five  to  fifty  volumes  is  sent  to  a  deposit  station  in  any 
community  desiring  the  privilege,  on  guaranty  of  payment  of  $5.00. 
I'^ivc  communities  now  have  such  branch  libraries.  It  is  hoped  in 
tlu'  future  to  increase  the  number  of  branches  and  to  obtain  for  the 
main  library  a  new  building  with  equipment  for  a  many-sided  com- 
munity service. 

Aside  from  the  county  library  and  its  branches,  there  is  a  small 
library  in  Aberdeen  and  a  few  insignificant  libraries  are  attached 
to  schools  or  churches.  All  the  books  available  for  public  use  do 
not  total  one  book  to  ten  inhabitants.  There  is,  moreover,  no  store 
in  the  county  where  books  in  any  considerable  number  are  displayed 

44 


SOCIAL  CONSIDERATIONS 

for  sale.  In  both  counties  there  is  much  room  for  development  in 
providing  good  books  at  accessible  places  and  in  encouraging 
their  use. 


Ideas  for  All 

Four  local  papers  are  published  in  Harford  County,  three  at 
Bel  Air  and  one  at  Havre  de  Grace.  Three  rural  communities  in 
Columbia  County  publish  newspapers,  Benton,  Catawissa  and  Mill- 
ville.  Bloomsburg  has  a  daily  newspaper  and  it  is  a  very  important 
community  factor.  In  both  counties,  city  dailies  circulate  widely. 
The  habit  of  newspaper  reading  has  spread  and  strengthened  during 
the  last  five  years.  "Now,"  a  field  worker  was  told,  "everybody 
has  ideas  even  if  he  doesn't  use  them." 

Both  counties  impress  the  observer  as  possessing  a  spirit  of 
enterprise.  As  a  whole  they  are  progressive  and  prosperous ;  they 
are  on  a  sound  economic  basis,  and  they  have  a  wholesome  com- 
munity life.  Their  organized  social  life  is  on  the  up-grade,  and 
the  value  of  the  get-together  spirit  is  beginning  to  be  generally 
recognized.  These  counties  do  things !  Their  communities,  on  the 
whole,  are  facing  forward.  Their  social  atmosphere  is  congenial 
to  progress.  The  net  impression  obtained  is  that  of  a  very  general 
and  genuine  desire  for  substantial  social  and  educational  progress. 
Communities,  like  individuals,  have  their  characteristic  attitudes, 
resulting  from  their  associations  and  traditions.  On  the  whole,  the 
predominant  attitude  in  these  counties  is  sympathetic  toward  every 
advantageous  development,  although  it  must  be  said  that  the  most 
recent  additions  to  the  population  have  not  made  an  altogether  help- 
ful contribution  at  this  point. 

Leaders  Not  Lacking 

One  indication  of  wholesome  community  life,  if  not  one  cause 
of  it,  is  the  type  of  leadership  to  be  found  in  these  counties,  and 
the  attitude  of  the  people  toward  their  leaders.  Social  advance 
is  difficult  if  not  impossible,  unless  its  purpose  and  objective  can 
be  personified  in  individuals  to  whom  people  look  for  leadership, 
and  w^hose  influence  and  opinion  they  respect.  Such  leaders  are 
found  in  most  of  the  communities  of  both  counties,  and  some  of 
them  have  county-wide  influence.  These  leaders  are  drawn  from 
all  occupations,  and  among  them  are  not  a  few  women. 

4-5 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

Community  and  County  Spirit 

Community  si)irit  is  rather  hard  to  define,  but  the  surveyors 
lound  evidences  of  it  in  most  of  the  communities.  Throughout 
both  counties,  there  is  an  emerging  social  consciousness.  Some 
communities  are  still  too  composite  in  population,  and  too  diversi- 
fied in  economic  interests  for  such  a  definite  social  consciousness  to 
crystallize,  while  others  are  without  any  activities  to  give  it  expres- 
sion. In  most  there  is,  however,  an  increasing  recognition  of  com- 
mon interests  and  needs,  and  an  enthusiasm  for  common  action  is 
apparent.  War  activities,  the  work  of  the  Granges  and  civic  asso- 
ciations, and  the  influence  of  certain  schools  and  churches  have 
contributed  noticeably  to  this  development. 

In  Harford  County,  with  its  communities  less  well  defined, 
county  spirit  largely  takes  the  place  of  community  spirit.  In  those 
communities  of  Harford  where  there  is  not  much  local  conscious- 
ness, there  is  found  a  deal  of  county  pride  and  a  very  active  devo- 
tion to  county-wide  interests.  The  various  forms  of  cooperative 
activities  described  in  the  previous  chapter  are  manifestations  of 
this  spirit,  as  is  the  increasing  support  of  the  schools,  of  the  Red 
Cross  and  of  various  forms  of  social  and  philanthropic  activities. 
Organized  cociperation  in  some  form  of  social  service,  coupled  with 
a  desire  to  exalt  the  community  or  the  county,  is  increasingly 
evident. 

Recreational  Opportunities 

In  one  community  in  Columbia  County,  the  social  problem  has 
been  largely  solved  by  the  building  of  a  commimity  house  on  the 
site  of  an  unused  Quaker  Seminary.  This  connnunity  house  is 
used  for  meetings  of  all  sorts,  including  the  Chautauqua.  A  com- 
munity club  has  been  organized,  the  membership  of  which  is  now 
several  hundred.  Improvements  of  various  sorts  are  under  way; 
a  gymnasium  is  to  be  installed  in  the  basement  of  the  building, 
tennis  courts  and  a  ball  field  are  provided,  while  a  fine  grove  is 
being  protected  in  the  hope  that,  some  day,  it  may  become  the  cen- 
ter of  a  community  park.  This  community  house  is  the  center  of 
most  of  the  town's  activities. 

There  is  this  distinct  contrast  in  the  recreational  life  of  the  two 
counties :  in  Columbia  County,  public  recreation  is  very  largely  on 
a  commercial  basis,  in  Harford  County,  recreational  opportunities 
are  generally  home-made.     There  is,  however,  a  good  deal  of  neigh- 

46 


SOCIAL  CONSIDERATIONS 

borhood  social  life  of  a  wholesome  sort  in  both  counties.  Par- 
ticularly in  Harford  County  picnics,  strawberry  festivals,  oyster 
suppers  and  similar  gatherings  are  popular.  Annual  picnics  gather 
in  hundreds  from  all  parts  of  the  county.  In  about  two-thirds  of 
the  communities  of  both  counties  there  is  some  public  building 
available,  at  least  occasionally,  for  recreational  purposes,  perhaps 
a  Lodge  hall,  a  school  or  a  Grange  hall.  Comparatively  few  of  the 
communities  have  dance  halls,  moving-picture  theaters,  bowling- 
alleys  or  pool-rooms.  Athletic  organisations  are  more  common  in 
Harford  County,  but  there  are  more  musical  organizations  in  Co- 


still   A      MEETING    HOUSE 

This  Community  Hall  is  on  the  site  of  the  old -Friends'   Academy  at  Millville,   Columbia 

County. 

lumbia  County.  Columbia  County  has  an  amusement  park,  located 
on  the  trolley  line  between  Bloomsburg  and  Berwick,  with  all  the 
usual  commercialized  attractions  of  such  a  resort.  This  is  the 
summer  gathering  place  for  the  entire  county. 

There  is  an  increasing  interest  in  the  amount  and  kind  of  social 
life  that  is  provided.  Very  substantial  progress  is  being  made  in 
meeting  the  need  for  recreation.  Pleasures  of  a  more  educational 
sort  are,  however,  still  rare.  Lectures  and  concerts,  music  and  art 
clubs,  as  well  as  debating,  dramatic  or  literary  societies  are  un- 
common. The  racing  season  in  Havre  de  Grace  is  an  influence  on 
the  life  of  Harford  County  that  is  far  from  desirable. 

Lodges  are  numerous  in  both  counties,  somewhat  stronger  in 
Columbia  than  in  Harford.  They  have  a  varying  amount  of  social 
importance,  but  usually  do  not  figure  largely   from  this  point  of 

47 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IX  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

view.  Other  organizations  have  a  greater  significance.  These  in- 
clude, in  Columbia  County,  three  community  clubs,  a  large  men's 
club,  a  ladies'  union,  two  book  clubs,  a  sportsmen's  club,  a  Boy 
Scout  troop,  and  a  young  people's  patriotic  society.  In  Harford 
County,  there  are  social  organizations  in  at  least  seventeen  com- 
munities besides  the  various  important  county-wide  organizations. 


48 


CHAPTER  VI 
A  General  View  of  the  Religious  Situation 

IN  the  discussion  of  piil)Hc  schools  it  was  noted  that  Columbia 
County  has  by  far  the  larger  nunil)er  of  schools,  and  that  the 
tendency  to  reduce  the  present  number  through  consolidation 
is  nuich  more  apparent  in  Harford  County.  The  same  conditions 
which  have  resulted  in  the  multiplication  of  schools,  together  with 
other  factors,  have  apparently  operated  to  increase  the  number  of 


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91 

ABERDEEN    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH 
Presbyterians    were    among    the    first   settlers    in    Harford    County. 

churches.  Of  course,  in  each  county,  almost  from  the  beginning 
the  population  has  contained  several  distinct  strains.  In  part  the 
lines  of  cleavage  have  been  racial,  but  in  part  they  have  been  re- 
ligious. Thus,  in  Columbia  County  the  liturgical  issue  has  divided 
the  German  population,  and  in  Harford  County  the  English-speaking 
immigrants  included  Roman  Catholics,  Episcopalians,  Friends  and 
Presbyterians. 

One  result  is  that,  in  Harford  County  particularly,  ancestral 
loyalties  still  hold  many  to  an  individualized  church  doctrine  and 
procedure,  while  church  life  has  assumed  a  great  variety  of  mani- 
festations in  adapting  itself  to  different  temperaments  and  different 

49 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IX  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

stages  of  moral  and  intellectual  development.  Such  distinctions  are 
as  significant  socially  as  distinctions  based  upon  race  and  language. 
Entirely  apart  from  any  other  factors,  they  have  operated  to  put 
into  these  counties  more  churches  than  an  impartial  view  of  the 
situation  would  regard  as  necessary.  The  multiplication  of  churches 
has  been  carried  even  farther  in  Columbia  than  in  Harford  County 
for  the  apparent  reason  that  the  former  county  has  a  more  broken 
topography  and  in  consequence  has  a  larger  number  of  rather  small 
communities.  It  has  already  been  noted  that  most  of  this  county's 
social  life  is  centered  within  limited  areas  and  that  a  larger  county 
loyalty  has  been  very  slow  in  developing. 

One  God:  Many  Churches 

Church  life  in  Harford  began  early.  The  Episcopal  church 
called  Spesutia  was  established  in  1681.  Churchville  Presbyterian 
Church  was  organized  in  1738,  and  the  first  Roman  Catholic  priest 
came  in  1747.  Only  a  little  later  Harford  Old  Baptist  Church  was 
founded.  By  1765  Bethel  Church  had  a  hundred  members,  and  in 
1782  came  the  organizatidi  of  Old  Waters  Methodist  Church.  By 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  work  of  all  the  present  leading 
denominations  was  well  established.  At  the  present  time  the  three 
Methodist  bodies  have  more  than  half  of  the  total  number  of 
churches  in  the  county. 

The  religious  life  of  Columbia  County  began  forty  years  later 
than  that  of  Harford  with  the  organization  of  a  Friends'  Meeting. 
This  first  organization  and  another  of  the  same  faith,  begun  two 
years  later,  were  the  only  churches  in  the  county  prior  to  1800. 
Subsequently  church  development  proceeded  more  rapidly  in  Co- 
lumbia County  than  in  Harford,  largely  because  the  population  grew 
more  rapidly  and  soon  became  more  diversified. 

These  counties,  as  is  to  be  expected,  display  both  the  faults 
and  the  virtues  of  our  American  system  of  church  development. 
Here  is  found  the  customary  wide  distribution  of  religious  forces 
and  their  organization  into  comparatively  small  and  independent 
local  units.  Churches  are  planted  to  accord  with  the  capacity  of  a 
man's  legs,  or,  at  least,  of  a  horse's  legs,  so  that  not  many  homes 
in  either  county  are  beyond  walking  distance  of  some  kind  of 
church.  The  advantages  of  ready  accessibility  are,  however,  partly 
ofifset  by  the  American  system  of  combining  churches  in  large  and 
cumbersome  circuits,  so  that  a  scattered  and  almost  exclusively 
vocal  ministry  becomes  the  only  possibility.    In  this  respect  Harford 

50 


A  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  SITUATION 

is  better  off  than  Columbia.  The  circuits  of  the  Maryland  county 
are  the  more  compact  and  the  automobile  brings  the  minister  nearer 
to  his  church.  Of  the  thirty-six  churches  in  Harford  which  have 
ministers  residing  outside  the  parish,  twenty  are  served  by  minis- 
ters who  live  less  than  ten  miles  away  and  who  own  automobiles. 

The  outstanding  weaknesses  of  the  circuit  system  are  the  lack 
of  coordination  between  parish  and  community  and  the  conception 
of  the  ministry  as  a  preaching  office  and  little  else.  These  weak- 
nesses, as  well  as  the  virtues  of  the  system,  are  characteristic  of 


T' 

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IN    MEMORY    OF    EARLY    DAYS 
The    Waters    Memorial    Methodist    Episcopal    Church,    Cooptown,    Harford    County. 

the  older  settlements  of  rural  America  and  are  perhaps  more  clearly 
demonstrated  in  Columbia  County  than  in  any  other  county  studied 
in  the  series  of  surveys  of  which  the  present  volume  is  part.  Its 
habitable  rural  area  has  one  Protestant  church  for  about  every  three 
and  one-half  square  miles  and  for  every  283  persons  of  whatever 
race  or  age.  Harford  County  has  a  Protestant  church  for  every  six 
square  miles  and  for  every  308  persons.  Here  is  illustrated  the 
diffuse  distribution  of  religious  forces  carried  almost  to  a  point  of 
absurdity.  If  the  Roman  Catholic  churches,  of  which  there  are 
ten  in  the  two  counties,  and  the  churches  for  colored  people,  of 
which  Harford  County  has  twenty-one,  are  left  out  of  considera- 
tion,* there  are  in  the  two  counties  174  more  or  less  active  Protest- 


*  Roman  Catholic  and  colored  churches  are  dealt  with  in  Chapter  XI. 

51 


THK   COL'N  THV   (  IIL'HC  H    IN    INDUSTRIAL  ZONKS 

ant  churches,  besides  reht^nous  work  carried  on  at  eij^ht  j)oints  out- 
side the  organized  church.  In  addilion,  ihere  are  visible  remains  of 
fifteen  cliurches  which  have  been  abandoned.  The  above  takes  no 
account,  of  course,  of  the  churches  in  the  cities  of  Bloomsburg  and 
Berwick. 

On  the  other  liand,  this  diffuse  (hstribution  has  not  ]:)revented 
substantial  religious  progress.  The  stronger   religious  communions 


METHODIST    Kl'lSCOl'AL    CHURCH    .\T    J  .\KKKTSVILLE 

More    than     half    tlie    existing    churches    in     Harford 
County   bflung   to   Mctiiodist    bodies. 


that  are  represented  here  are  of  a  tenacious  sort,  jjarticularly  tliose 
whose  racial  characteristics  are  marked.  In  Columbia  County, 
for  example,  during  the  last  thirty  years,  while  the  total  jiopula- 
tion  of  the  entire  county  was  increasing  about  one-third,  the  total 
church  membership  more  than  doubled,  and  the  Protestant  church 
membershi])  increased  about  120  per  cent.  During  the  last  decade, 
although  the  rural  ])opulation  showed  a  decided  decrease,  the  Prot- 
estant church  membership  showed  an  equally  decided  increase. 
Harford  County  churches  have  not  registered  so  large  an  advance, 
but  they  have  gone  forward  steadily. 

52 


A  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  SITUATION 
Where  Denominations  Dominate 

In  Columbia  County,  outside  its  cities,  there  are  at  the  present 
time  100  active  Protestant  churches  representing  thirteen  different  de- 
nominations, while  Harford  County  has  seventy-four  white  churches 
representing  thirteen  denominations.  In  the  two  counties,  four 
denominations  have  64  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  churches. 
Divided  according  to  the  size  of  population,  five  of  the  total  num- 


SERVIXG    THE    COMMUNITY 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  A\'iIburton,  Cohimbia 
County,  is  the  only  church  in  the  community  and  has 
risen  to  its  opportunities. 

ber  of  churches  are  in  towns  of  2,500  or  more,  sixty  are  in  villages 
of  from  250  to  2,500,  and  109  are  in  hamlets  or  in  the  open  country. 
Only  one  community  in  the  two  counties  is  without  an  organized 
church,  and  this  one  has  a  preaching  point  and  a  Sunday  school. 
In  only  fourteen  conniiunities  in  the  two  counties  is  church  com- 
petition absent.  One  of  these  communities  has  as  many  as  2,500 
people,  but  one  has  as  few  as  140  and  six  have  less  than  350  in- 
habitants each.  There  are  twenty-four  communities  in  Columbia 
County   which    have    each    two    or   more    Protestant    churches,    the 

u3 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

largest  number  per  community  being  eleven.  The  ratio  of  churches 
to  population  varies  from  one  church  to  every  127  people  up  to 
one  church  to  every  389  people. 

In  the  two  counties  there  are  thirteen  communities  with  fewer 
than  200  persons  to  every  church  and  there  are  fifteen  others  with 
fewer  than  300  to  each  church.  This  is  a  multiplication  of  churches 
to  a  degree  far  beyond  the  average  in  eastern  states,  where  there 
are  very  generally  more  churches  than  are  needed.  Thirty  typical 
counties  in  the  colonial  area  show  an  average  of  one  church  for 
every  486  people.  It  is  to  be  doubted  if  there  are  as  many  as  a 
half  dozen  churches  in  the  whole  of  Columbia  County  which  have 
undisputed  access  to  as  many  as  500  actual  or  prospective  Protestant 
adherents.  Moreover,  in  both  counties,  especially  in  Columbia, 
there  is  necessarily  a  great  deal  of  overlapping  of  service  areas, 
often  of  churches  of  the  same  denomination.  The  abandoned 
churches  pointedly  illustrate  the  extreme  efifects  of  this  competition. 
A  number  of  others  precariously  survive.  Only  a  small  part  of 
the  area  of  these  counties  is  not  included  within  the  parish  of  some 
church,  and  most  of  it  is  within  easy  reach  of  two  or  more  churches. 
The  most  extreme  example  of  this  condition  is  to  be  found  in  the 
eastern  section  of  Columbia  County,  north  of  the  Susquehanna 
River.  Here,  in  an  area  eight  by  ten  miles,  there  are  thirty  active 
churches,  thirteen  of  which  are  of  one  denomination,  while  thirteen 
more  represent  two  other  denominations. 


.'54 


CHAPTER  VII 
Church  Equipment  and  Finance 

THE  church  building  is  generally  a  fairly  accurate  reflection 
of  the  ideas  of  church  program  and  function  current  at 
the  time  of  its  erection.  All  but  two  of  the  church  or- 
gSni2ations  in  these  two  counties  own  their  buildings.  Since  many 
of  these  buildings  are  rather  old,  their  plan  reflects  the  ideas  of  an 
earlier  day  rather  than  of  the  present.  In  the  main  they  are  sub- 
stantial, well-kept  buildings,  of  ample  size  and  in  excellent  repair. 
Many  of  them  are  exceedingly  attractive  in  appearance.  But  a 
building  houses  an  idea  as  well  as  a  congregation.  Not  only  is  its 
architectural  style  an  indication  of  prevailing  artistic  standards, 
but  its  floor  plan  and  equipment,  within  the  limits  set  by  financial 
resources,  rather  accurately  embody  the  ideas  of  its  people  as  to 
what  the  Church  should  do  for  its  community. 

Generally  speaking,  these  churches  have  been  built  to  house 
preaching  services  and  little  else.  Their  size  is  adequate  for  this 
purpose,  their  combined  capacity  enables  them  to  seat,  at  simul- 
taneous services,  every  person  in  the  two  counties  who  is  not  actively 
a  member  of  some  non-evangelical  organization,  and  still  have  a 
safe  margin  of  reserve  space.  Few  of  them  are  equipped  to  render 
any  other  service.  Three  out  of  every  five  of  them  are  one-room 
structures  and  more  than  half  of  the  remainder  have  but  two  rooms 
each.  Only  ten  churches  in  the  two  counties  have  as  many  as  five 
rooms.  The  large  number  of  small  and  relatively  weak  organiza- 
tions would  almost  inevitably  mean  a  preponderance  of  meagerly 
equipped  buildings.  The  total  investment  in  church  property  is 
very  considerable.  For  the  church  auditoriums  and  land  alone  it 
considerably  exceeds  a  million  dollars.  With  the  value  of  parson- 
ages and  such  auxiliary  buildings  as  there  are,  the  total  reaches 
the  very  respectable  sum  of  v$l, 273,225.  Just  as  the  church  person- 
nel is  so  widely  scattered  that  its  impact  on  the  life  of  the  county 
is  lessened,  so  its  financial  investment  is  distributed  in  such  a  way 
that  at  only  a  few  points  is  adequate  equipment  provided  according 
to  a  generous  conception  of  church  work. 

55 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

Quantity,  Not  Quality 

A  comparatively  small  number  of  churches  have  buildings  other 
than  the  main  church  auditorium.  About  one  in  fourteen  owns  or 
has  the  use  of  a  stereopticon  or  a  moving-picture  projector.  There 
is  a  negligible  amount  of  other  sorts  of  equipment  useful  for  social 
and  educational  purposes,  lliis  means  that  very  few  of  the  churches 
in  the  two  counties  have  the  physical  facilities  either  for  a  broadly 
conceived  social  and  recreational  ministry  or  for  an  adequate  pro- 
gram of  religious  education.  In  all  fairness  it  must  be  added  that 
most  of  the  churches  have  sufficient  equipment  for  all  that  they 
actually  undertake  to  do. 

The  average  valuation  of  church  property  in  Harford  is  con- 
siderably larger  than  in  Columbia  County.  The  comparison  of  the 
two  counties  is,  however,  less  significant  because  of  the  inclusion 
in  the  Harford  County  figures  of  five  town  churches  in  Havre  de 
Grace  which  have  an  average  value  of  $34,000  per  church.  Even  so, 
the  difference  in  value  is  all  in  favor  of  Harford  County,  whose  vil- 
lage churches  have  nearly  double,  and  whose  country  churches  have 
more  than  double  the  average  value  of  similarly  located  churches  in 
Columbia  County.  Into  how  small  units  the  total  property  valua- 
tion is  divided  can  better  be  appreciated  from  such  facts  as  these : 
that  Columbia  County's  fifty-four  country  churches  have  an  aver- 
age valuation  of  only  $2,056;  that  nearly  one-fourth  of  all  the 
country  churches  in  both  counties  are  valued  at  less  than  $1,500 
each,  while  one-fourth  of  the  village  churches  are  valued  at  less 
than  $3,000  each. 

Harford  County  is  much  better  provided  with  parsonages  than 
is  Columbia  County,  having  twenty-nine  for  its  seventy-four 
churches,  whereas  Columbia  has  but  thirty  for  its  100  churches. 
The  significance  of  this  fact  will  be  apparent  in  connection  with 
the  discussion  of  ministerial  service.  Harford  County's  parsonages, 
incidentally,  have  more  than  twice  the  value  of  Columbia  County's. 
This  whole  property  situation  is  only  another  indication  of  how 
recent  is  the  emphasis  upon  a  broader  program  for  the  Church,  and 
a  resident  ministry  for  the  direction  of  that  program.  Such  a  con- 
ception, old  enough  in  some  denominations  and  with  some  individ- 
uals in  all  denominations,  is  hardly  yet  fully  established  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  church  people  generally. 


56 


CHURCH  EQUIPMENT  AND  FINANCE 
The  Dollar  Barometer 

The  financial  methods  employed  to  obtain  the  amounts  required 
for  the  current  operating  expenses  of  the  Church  show  all  the  usual 
variations  in  system  and  effectiveness.  In  a  voluntarily  supported 
institution  like  the  average  Protestant  church,  finance  is  a  very 
sensitive  barometer  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  Church  is  held  by 
its  constituency  and  by  the  community  in  general.  These  counties 
are  prosperous,  but  giving  depends  upon  interest  as  much  as  upon 
prosperity.  It  depends  upon  adherence,  not  alone  to  the  Church 
as  an  idea,  but  to  the  Church  as  a  working  organization.  There 
are  plenty  of  people,  indeed  whole  sects,  who  adhere  to  the  idea 
of  the  Church  with  great  fidelity,  but  who  do  not  put  any  con- 
siderable sums  of  money  into  its  program.  Exi)erience  suggests 
that  the  problem  of  church  finance  is  three-fold :  first,  and  above 
all  else,  it  is  a  question  of  the  performance  of  an  adecjuate  and 
substantially  valuable  ministry ;  secondly  it  is  a  question  of  edu- 
cating the  constituency  to  the  value  of  the  Church's  work  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  in  the  principles  and  practices  of  Christian  stew- 
ardship; thirdly,  it  is  a  question  of  the  employment  of  simple  but 
sound  business  methods  in  the  presentation  of  the  financial  needs 
of  the  Church  and  in  obtaining  and  administering  funds.  Judg- 
ment on  the  first  of  these  points  must  be  suspended  until  the  whole 
record  of  work  is  reviewed.  On  the  second  point  it  may  be  said 
that  actual  giving  is  urged  more  than  education  in  giving  is  pro- 
vided.   On  the  third  point,  the  following  paragraph  offers  testimony. 

The  Plate  or  the  Envelope 

Virtually  one-half  of  the  churches  have  instituted  a  budget  sys- 
tem, with  respect  both  to  their  local  requirements  and  to  their 
benevolences.  These  churches  prepare,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fiscal  year,  a  complete  itemized  budget  of  the  amounts  which  they 
require,  on  the  basis  of  which  subscriptions  are  secured.  Perhaps 
half  as  many  more  prepare  such  a  budget  for  their  local  needs  only. 
In  three-fourths  of  the  total  number  of  churches,  an  annual  every- 
member  canvass  is  made.  In  nearly  this  number  contributions  are 
made  through  some  form  of  weekly  envelopes.  The  other  churches 
depend  variously  upon  monthly,  quarterly  or  annual  payments,  or 
some  combination  of  them.  At  least  one-third  of  the  churches  may 
be  said  to  be  without  any  organized  financial  system,  depending  for 
the  most  part  on  periodic  appeals  and  church  collections,  supple- 

57 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH   IX   INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

merited  perhaps  by  the  time-honored  custom  of  circulating  a  paper. 
The  obtaining  of  money  for  benevolent  purposes  is  slowly  being 
systematized.  In  this  process,  the  pressure  of  the  greatly  aug- 
mented denominational  appeals  for  funds  has  been  effective.  A 
decreasing  number  of  churches  depend  exclusively  upon  public  col- 
lections for  their  benevolent  offerings. 

Aid  for  Competitive  Churches 

Home  Mission  aid  is  not  a  large  factor  in  financing  the  ordinary 
forms  of  local  church  work  in  either  county.  The  most  interesting 
Home  Mission  project  is  that  concerned  with  the  ministry  to  the 
migrant  workers  in  Harford  County,  which  is  the  subject  of  a 
separate  chapter.  Apart  from  this  project  eighteen  churches,  four- 
teen of  them  located  in  the  open  country,  are  receiving  Home  Mis- 
sion aid  to  the  total  amount  of  about  $1,900  annually. 

Of  the  eight  churches  receiving  Home  Mission  aid  in  Harford 
County  three  have  less  than  fifteen  active  members.  Four  are  of 
non-competitive  service  to  isolated  communities,  two  are  in  com- 
numities  which  also  contain  several  self-supporting  churches,  and 
two  more  stand  within  a  mile  of  each  other  in  an  outlying  neigh- 
borhood of  a  village  community.  One  of  these  last  two  lies  within 
the  actual  parish  area  of  a  church  of  the  same  denomination  in  the 
village,  which  also  has  several  other  self-supporting  churches  and 
four  resident  pastors.  Eight  of  the  ten  aided  churches  in  Columbia 
County  are  in  competition  with  other  Protestant  churches.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  therefore,  it  appears  that  Home  Mission  aid  has 
not  as  yet  made  any  very  statesman-like  contribution  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  religious  life  of  these  counties,  save  in  the  one 
instance  of  the  service  to  migrants  to  which  reference  has  been  made. 

County  Accounts 

Analysis  of  the  receipts  and  disbursements  for  church  work  in 
these  counties  discloses  some  rather  curious  contrasts  which  it  is 
difficult  wholly  to  explain.  The  total  sum  raised  annually  is  con- 
siderable. For  the  year  of  the  survey  it  was  $168,859,  of  which 
amount  about  54  per  cent,  was  raised  by  the  Harford  County 
churches.  The  average  amount  raised  per  church  in  Harford 
County  is  nearly  60  per  cent,  larger  than  the  average  per  church 
in  Columbia  County.  The  discrepancy  was  greater  among  country 
than  among  village  churches.    This  is  partly  explained  by  the  larger 

58 


CHURCH  EQUIPMENT  AND  FINANCE 

number  and  the  smaller  size  of  the  Columbia  County  congregations. 
This  fact  does  not,  however,  explain  the  very  considerable  varia- 
tion between  the  two  counties  in  the  matter  of  per  capita  giving. 
The  average  per  capita  giving  in  Harford  County  is  not  high,  as 
such  counties  go,  but  in  Columbia  County  it  is  almost  unaccount- 
ably low.  Church  members  in  Columbia  County  last  year,  for  all 
church  purposes,  gave  an  average  of  only  $10.96,  as  comi)ared  with 
$16.30  in  Harford  County.  Like  too  many  of  these  counties  in  the 
East  giving  is  far  lower  in  proportion  to  resources  than  it  has  any 


WHAT  THE  AVERAGE 
CHURCH    MEMBER  6IVES 

Annual    Amount   Contributed 
per    Active    Member 

HARFORD  CO. 
$25  32 


COLUMBIA  CO. 


$11.88 


$8.43 

I 


$14.08 


Countt7   Town&  Country  Town& 

Churches  Villoge  Churches  Village 

Churches  Churches 


right  to  be.  Many  counties  in  the  Range  states,  despite  the  struggle 
to  become  established,  average  twice  and  more  per  capita  than  these 
two  settled  and  firmly  rooted  eastern  counties. 

In  each  county,  the  country  churches  make  a  poorer  record  than 
the  village  or  town  churches.  In  Columbia  County,  the  country 
church  member  gives  nearly  one-third  less,  and  in  Harford  County 
more  than  two-fifths  less  per  year  than  his  brother  in  the  village 
or  town  church.  Even  at  that,  the  average  per  capita  giving  for 
Harford  County  country  churches  exceeds  the  county  average  of 
Columbia  County  by  about  30  per  cent.  One  explanation  of  the 
difference  between  them  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  average  gross 
income  per  farm  in  Columbia  County  is  not  much  more  than  half 

59 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

that  of  Harford  County.  Another  explanation  is  found  in  the  ab- 
normal under-pastoring  of  the  churches  in  Columbia  County.  People 
give  in  proportion  to  their  real  interest  and  real  interest  cannot  be 
sustained  by  a  traveling  ministry. 

The  details  of  church  expenditure  show  certain  items  of  special 
interest.  The  proportion  of  the  total  budget  devoted  to  missions 
and  benevolences  is  in  each  county  rather  high,  being  around  30 
per  cent,  of  the  total.  The  proportion  required  for  various  miscel- 
laneous purposes  is  also  rather  high,  less  than  half  of  the  amount 
raised  in  each  county  going  into  pastors'  salaries.  This  would  not 
be  particularly  surprising  in  counties  characterized  by  more  generous 
giving,  but  is  rather  surprising  under  the  circumstances,  and  in  view 
of  the  prevailing  low  salaries  paid.  It  is  not  unnatural  that  in  the 
country  churches  the  proportion  of  the  budget  spent  for  salaries 
is  higher,  and  the  proportion  spent  for  missions  is  lower  than  m 
the  village  churches.  The  country  churches,  generally  speakmg, 
live  "nearer  the  line"  than  the  village  churches.  It  is  quite  possible 
that  the  poor  record  which  Columbia  County  makes  in  the  matter 
of  church  finances  has  some  bearing  upon  the  fact  that  it  is  so 
seriously  over-churched. 


60 


CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Minister 

THE  history  of  church  Hfe  in  colonial  counties  is  full  of  the 
names  of  great  preachers  of  the  past,  many  of  them  men 
of  outstanding  personality,  scholarship  and  influence.  Har- 
ford County,  for  instance,  is  rich  in  traditions  of  Whitefield,  Bishop 
Asbury  and  William  Finney.  The  minister  has  not  quite  the  place 
in  the  public  mind  or  in  the  church  economy  of  the  present  that  he 
had  a  hundred  years  ago,  but  it  is  not  a  less  important  place  that 
he  has  come  to  fill.  In  current  thinking,  the  function  of  the  pulpit 
is  probably  not  less  highly  regarded  than  in  the  past,  although  at 
times  it  would  seem  so.  The  significant  change  about  the  modern 
emphasis  in  church  work  is  that  the  minister  is  required  to  be  so 
much  more  than  a  preacher.  As  a  leader  and  executive  in  a  congre- 
gation, the  minister  is  the  most  important  single  factor  in  its  prog- 
ress. The  practical  development  of  religious  work  involves  no  more 
important  questions  than  those  which  concern  the  number,  status 
and  qualifications  of  the  men  who  are  primarily  charged  with  its 
direction. 

More  Churches  Than  Pastors 

The  facts  already  brought  out  as  to  the  distribution  of  the 
churches  and  their  financial  support  have  a  very  definite  bearing 
upon  this  phase  of  the  inquiry.  In  the  first  place,  both  financial  and 
general  considerations  make  it  likely  that  the  county  which  is  over- 
churched  will  be  underministered.  Not  only  is  it  true  of  the  local 
community  that  the  more  churches  it  has  the  less  real  pastoral  serv- 
ice is  it  likely  to  get,  but  it  is  also  true  of  the  whole  county.  Cer- 
tainly this  proposition  works  out  in  the  two  counties  under  consid- 
eration. 

Columbia  County's  100  churches  command  the  service,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  of  only  thirty-eight  ministers.  Of  these,  six  pastors  serv- 
ing fifteen  churches  combine  some  other  occupation  with  the  work  of 
the  ministry.  The  other  thirty-two  pastors  serve  a  total  of  seventy- 
three  churches  within  the  county.  Twelve  churches  were  pastorless 
at  the   time   of    the    survey.      In   addition   to   serving   eighty-eight 

61 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

churches  within  the  county,  the  38  pastors  also  serve  thirty-one 
churches  in  other  counties,  or  119  churches  in  all,  an  average  of 
3.1  churches  per  man.  All  hut  seven  of  these  men  serve  at  least 
two  churches  each,  the  largest  circuits  containing  six  churches. 

Harford  County  makes  a  much  hetter  pastoral  record.  Sev- 
enty-one churches  there  are  served  by  thirty-nine  pastors,  only  two 
of  whom  do  not  give  full  time  to  the  ministry.  The  other  three 
churches  are  of  the  denomination  of  Friends  who  customarily  are 
without  a  paid  ministry.  Here,  therefore,  the  ministers  average 
but  1.8  churches  per  man.  Moreover,  there  are  eleven  ministers 
serving  but  a  single  church  each  and  only  twelve  serving  more 
than  two.  Such  circuits  as  there  are  in  Harford  County,  as  has 
already  been  noted,  are  more  compact  than  those  in  Columbia 
County,  where  the  distances  to  be  traversed  are  longer  and  the 
country  is  more  rugged. 

A  Pastor  at  Hand  Is  Worth  Two  on  Circuit 

It  is  obvious  that  a  distribution  of  ministerial  services  such  as 
obtains,  particularly  in  Columbia  County,  must  operate  to  deprive 
most  of  the  churches  of  the  advantage  of  a  resident  minister,  or  at 
least  of  the  advantage  of  having  a  considerable  proportion  of  his 
time.  The  circuit  system  is  essentially  a  pioneer  device  which  had 
its  justification  in  a  day  of  scattered  population  and  few  ministers. 
Its  continuance  under  modern  conditions  can  only  be  attributed  in 
general  to  the  competitive  element  which  still  so  prominently  in- 
fluences our  church  practice.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  larger 
Christian  community,  the  circuit  system  in  so  extreme  a  form  has 
no  longer  the  justification  of  necessity.  It  never  had  the  justifica- 
tion of  efficiency.  The  whole  of  modern  church  work  pivots  upon 
the  idea  of  a  resident  pastor.  That  i)oint  is  no  longer  seriously 
fjuestioned ;  the  debate  upon  it  is  a  dim  memory.  We  have  not 
yet,  however,  had  the  courage  to  accept  the  implications  either  of 
our  theory  or  of  our  tested  experience.  Note,  for  example,  that  in 
these  two  counties,  there  are  only  eight  communities,  four  in  each 
county,  which  have  full-time  resident  pastors,  that  is,  resident 
pastors  with  no  other  occupation  than  their  ministry,  and  each  serv- 
ing but  a  single  church.  Twenty-eight  communities,  more  than 
half  the  total  number,  seventeen  of  them  in  Columbia  County  and 
eleven  in  Harford,  have  no  pastors  resident  within  their  bounds. 
Only  six  churches  out  of  100  in  Columbia  County  have  full-time 
resident   pastors.     There   are    107    churches   in   the   two   counties 

J2 


THE  MINISTER 

served  by  non-resident  men.  Of  course,  it  is  true  that  in  many  of 
these  cases,  the  pastors  do  not  Hve  at  any  great  distance,  and  if 
one  could  assume  good  roads  and  an  automobile  in  each  case  (an 
unsafe  assumption)  the  distance  between  pastor  and  congregation 
would  not  usually  be  excessive.  But  the  minister  knows,  as  every 
one  knows,  that  it  is  not  a  question  of  getting  to  his  church,  but  of 
living  with  it  every  day.  The  importance  of  this  point  will  be 
more  obvious  when  the  question  of  evangelization  is  considered,  in 
the  chapter  on  church  membership. 

One  factor  of  importance  is  that  usually  circuits  have  little  re- 
lation to  the  facts  of  social  or  trade  relationships  between  com- 
munities. Many  of  these  circuits,  especially  in  Columbia  County, 
in  addition  to  being  large,  are  cumbersome  and  unworkable,  and 
deny  the  minister  the  opportunity  helpfully  to  relate  his  life  and 
work  to  the  needs  of  a  single  community.  A  glance  at  the  church 
map  will  support  this  contention.  If  the  denominational  lines  were 
not  so  sharply  drawn,  a  redistribution  of  the  present  pastoral  force 
might  be  efifected  which  would  insure  to  each  minister  a  compact, 
workable  parish,  and  to  each  community  a  resident  religious  lead- 
ership. 

Spiritual  Labor  and  Its  Hire 

The  question  of  ministers'  salaries  has  an  important  bearing  in 
this  connection.  The  motive  in  the  formation  of  most  circuits  is, 
frankly,  "to  make  up  a  salary."  The  average  salary  is  low  in  both 
counties.  In  order  to  make  a  proper  comparison  between  the  sal- 
aries of  ministers  who  have,  and  those  who  have  not  the  free  use  of 
a  parsonage,  the  rental  value  of  the  parsonage  may  be  assumed  to  be 
$250  a  year.  If  this  sum  be  added  to  the  cash  salary  paid  in  cases 
where  a  parsonage  is  furnished,  the  average  salary  for  ministers 
devoting  themselves  exclusively  to  their  ministry,  is,  in  Columbia 
County,  $1,442  and  in  Harford  County  $10  higher.  In  other  words, 
the  average  salary  is  approximately  eqviivalent  to  $1,200  cash  and 
the  free  use  of  a  house,  which,  since  the  war,  according  to  the 
standards  of  most  denominations,  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  at 
least  $300  below  a  reasonable  minimum. 

The  question  of  salaries  is  not  wholly  divorced  from  the  ques- 
tion of  the  educational  qualifications  of  the  minister,  as  to  wdiich 
there  is  considerable  variation  in  the  standards  of  different  de- 
nominations. Harford  has  the  better  educational  record  of  the  two 
counties,  only  four  of   its  pastors  being  without  either  college  or 

63 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

theological  seniinarv  training.  More  than  half  have  had  both.  On 
the  whole,  the  better  trained  men  here  are  making  the  better  record. 
In  Columbia  County,  there  are  seven  ministers  without  either  col- 
lege or  scminarv  training,  and  less  than  half  of  the  total  number 
have  had  both. 

In  both  counties  the  churches  have  been  unable,  as  a  rule,  to 
hold  their  ministers  for  any  considerable  period  of  years.  Most 
of  them  have  had  a  rapid  succession  of  men.  For  example,  only  ten 
of  the  present  pastors  of  Columbia  County  have  been  serving  their 
present  charges  for  more  than  two  and  one-half  years ;  but  seven- 
teen churches  in  the  two  counties  have  retained  the  same  pastor 
throughout  the  last  decade.  There  are  thirty-three  churches  in  which 
the  average  pastorate  has  lasted  two  years  or  less.  In  three-fourths 
of  the  churches  pastors  had  served  three  years  or  less.  It  hardly 
needs  to  be  argued  that  such  instability  of  pastoral  service  has  an 
unfortimate  effect  upon  the  continuity  of  church  work,  and  must 
generally  result  in  a  lack  of  acquaintance  between  pastor  and  people. 
An  unstable  condition  of  this  kind  leads  the  minister  to  place  re- 
liance for  church  gains  upon  high  pressure  methods  which  may 
or  may  not  produce  permanent  results. 


64 


CHAPTER  IX 
Church  Membership 

THE  obvious  test  of  church  strength  is  in  the  proportion  of 
the  population  that  is  actively  identified  with  the  meniber- 
ship  and  work  of  the  church.  The  total  enrolled  member- 
ship of  the  174  churches  of  these  two  counties  is  15,702 — 27  per 
cent,  of  the  total  rural  population,  or  32  per  cent,  of  the  non-Cath- 
olic town  and  country  population.    The  percentage  is  practically  the 


RESIDENCE  AND  ACTIVITY 
OF  CHURCH    MEMBERS 


12% 
Non    Resident 

11% 
■*  Inactive 


88%  of 
■    Total  Roll 
are   Resident 


"A'An  inactive  member  is  one  who  does  not 
attend  church  or  contribute  to  its  support 

Chart  based  on  figures  from  174  Protestant  churcfies 


same  in  each  county  and  is  slightly  above  the  average  for  the  entire 
United  States.  This  is  rather  a  negative  merit,  for  predominantly 
Protestant  counties,  with  old  established  churches  and  well-matured 
religious  traditions  ought,  on  the  face  of  things,  to  exceed  the  na- 
tional average.  Of  the  total  membership  practically  four-fifths  are 
classified  as  resident,  active  members.  The  others  are  about  evenly 
divided  between  non-resident  members  and  non-active  resident 
members,  the  latter  being  defined  as  those  who  neither  attend  the 

Q5 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

cluiixh  services  nor  contribute  to  church  su])port.  'Ihe  active  mem- 
bership is,  therefore,  httle  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  total  po]mla- 
tion.  'Jlie  average  active  membership  for  town  churches  is  105, 
for  village  churches  98,  and  for  country  churches  51.  The  churches 
of  Bloomsburg  and  Berwick,  which  are  not  included  in  the  scope 
of  this  survey,  have  apparently  very  slight  impact  upon  the  life 
of  the  county  outside  their  incorporated  limits,  and  enroll  a  negli- 
gible number  of  rural  members,  about  100  in  all.  The  figures  given 
above,  therefore,  fairly  represent  the  standing  of  the  Protestant 
Church  among  the  rural  population. 

Records,  Good  and  Bad 

A  study  of  the  proportion  of  population  in  the  church  member- 
ship by  communities  discloses  some  interesting  and  important  varia- 
tions. In  Columbia  County  this  proportion  varies  from  less  than 
one-tenth  to  more  than  three-fourths.  In  Harford  County  it  varies 
from  3  per  cent,  to  67  per  cent.  The  ten  communities  of  Columbia 
County  which  make  the  poorest  record  in  this  respect  average  prac- 
tically one-eighth  of  the  population  in  the  church  membership,  while 
the  eleven  communities  of  Harford  County  which  have  the  poorest 
record  average  slightly  better  than  one-fifth.  The  ten  "best"  evan- 
gelized communities  in  Columbia  County  have,  on  the  average,  a 
little  less  than  one-half  of  their  population  in  the  church  member- 
ship, considerably  bettering  the  record  of  the  ten  "best"  communities 
in  Harford  County.  The  causes  of  such  variations  are  not  easily 
determined.  That  after  more  than  150  years  of  Protestant  Church 
efifort  there  should  still  be  communities  with  less  than  one-tenth  of 
their  population  evangelized  seems  strange  enough.  Many  factors 
enter  into  the  account.  First,  it  may  be  said  that  the  variation  is  not 
primarily  along  the  line  of  racial  or  economic  diiTerences,  and  it  is 
apparently  not  afifected  by  the  distribution  of  particular  denomina- 
tions. The  communities  with  the  best  records,  have,  on  the  whole, 
much  the  same  balance  in  denominational  strength  as  have  those 
with  the  poorest,  and  the  denominations  which  include  the  greater 
proportion  of  the  churches  show  the  same  sort  of  marked  variation 
in  the  efTectiveness  of  their  churches. 

"Fruit  That  Remaineth" 

A  study  of  the  variations  in  church  efTectivcness  by  communities 
in   Harford   County   is   not  particularly   significant   for  the   reason 

66 


CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP 

that  the  communities  themselves,  as  has  been  shown,  have  such 
loosely  defined  boundaries  and  that  often  representatives  of  one 
community  belong  to  the  churches  in  another.  The  number  of  mem- 
bers living  more  than  two  miles  from  their  church  is  a  little  larger 
in  Harford  County  than  in  the  average.  To  some  extent  the  extra- 
community  attendance  and  membership  equalizes.  Only  a  house 
to  house  religious  census  could  definitely  determine  the  exact  degree 
of  evangelization.  The  facts  do  establish,  however,  that  there  is  a 
wide  degree  of  difi^erence  in  the  evangelization  of  various  sections 
of  Harford  County.  With  the  sharply  defined  community  boun- 
daries and  the  negligible  amount  of  extra-community  membership 
existing  in  Columbia  County  it  is  possible  to  make  a  much  closer 
analysis  of  the  situation  and  it  throws  a  good  deal  of  light  on  the 
question  of  church  failure. 

As  a  basis  for  comparison,  the  communities  of  Columbia  County 
may  be  divided  into  three  groups.  The  first  group  comi)rises  the 
ten  communities  which  show  the  largest  proportion  of  their  popula- 
tion in  the  church  membership ;  the  second  group,  the  ten  with  the 
lowest  proportion,  and  the  third,  the  remaining  eleven  or  interme- 
diate communities.  The  first  group  consists,  on  the  whole,  of  the 
large  communities.  They  have  an  average  population  two  and  one- 
half  times  that  of  the  second  group  and  nearly  one-half  as  much 
again  as  that  of  the  third  group.  The  distribution  of  pastoral 
service  is  an  important  factor.  In  the  ten  "best"  communities  just 
one-third  of  the  churches  have  resident  pastors.  In  the  ten  "poorest" 
communities  less  than  one-fifth  have  them  and  in  the  rest  of  the 
communities  about  one-fourth. 

The  least  efifective  work  is  done  where  the  circuits  are  the 
largest.  The  record  in  this  particular  is  not  especially  good  for  any 
of  the  communities  of  the  county,  but  in  the  ten  "best"  communities 
54  per  cent,  of  the  churches  are  combined  on  circuits  of  four  or 
more  churches,  as  compared  with  81  per  cent,  in  the  "poorest"  com- 
munities and  64  per  cent,  for  the  rest  of  the  county.  The  percen- 
tages of  churches  on  six-point  circuits  are  respectively  4,  25  and  22 
in  the  three  groups  of  communities  in  the  same  order.  This  means 
that  the  "best"  evangelized  communities  are  the  ones  where  churches 
receive  the  most  pastoral  attention.  Computing  the  percentage  of 
the  ministers'  time  which  each  church  receives  (that  is,  figuring  that 
a  church  on  a  six-point  circuit  has  one-sixth  of  the  minister's  time) 
51  per  cent,  of  the  pastoral  time  of  the  county  goes  into  the  ten 
"best"  communities,  and  only  16  per  cent,  goes  into  the  ten  "poorest." 
On  this  basis  the  ten  "best"  communities  have  the  equivalent  of  a 

67 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

full-time  minister  for  every  795  persons,  as  compared  with  the 
proportion  of  one  to  every  1,149  in  the  "poorest"  CDmmunities, 
and  1.104  in  the  rest  of  the  county.  The  number  of  persons  per  resi- 
dent minister,  irrespective  of  the  number  of  churches  he  serves,  is 
respectively  750,  1,839  and  1,549  for  the  three  i^roups  of  com- 
munities. It  is  a  fair  inference,  then,  that  the  variations  in  the 
evangelistic  effectiveness  reflect  primarily  the  variations  in  the 
amount  of  pastoral  service  provided. 

When  Competition  Ruins 

The  size  of  the  membership  of  individual  churches  is  related 
to  the  foregoing  both  as  a  cause  and  as  an  effect.  It  is  a  cause 
since,  in  a  stable  community,  the  size  of  the  organization  seems  to 
have  a  direct  bearing  upon  its  work  and  efficiency.  It  is  an  effect 
because  obviously  imperfect  evangelization  reduces  membership  by 
winning  fewer  members  to  allegiance  to  the  Church. 

There  are  many  small  churches  in  both  counties,  too  many  in 
the  interest  of  efficiency.  Those  in  Columbia  County,  as  would  be 
expected,  average  smaller  than  those  in  Harford  County.  In  each 
county  the  village  and  town  churches  are  much  larger  than  the 
country  churches.  The  variation  in  size  is  great.  For  town  churches 
the  active  membership  ranges  from  sixty-three  to  255,  for  village 
churches  from  five  to  405,  for  country  churches  from  four  to  200. 
There  are  sixteen  village  and  sixty-five  country  churches,  nearly 
half  of  the  whole  number  of  churches,  with  less  than  fifty  active 
members  each. 

In  Harford  County  seven-eighths  of  the  membership  are  in  little 
more  than  half  of  the  churches.  The  initial  handicap  of  the  country 
churches  as  compared  to  the  village  and  town  churches  is  here  ap- 
parent. The  country  churches  have  access  to  fewer  people  since, 
as  a  rule,  the  village  churches  draw  from  both  the  town  and  the 
country,  but  the  country  churches  from  the  farms  only.  The  coun- 
try churches  have,  therefore,  a  smaller  average  constituency  and 
are  most  of  them  in  the  smaller  membership  groups.  Out  of  109 
country  churches  only  nine  have  memberships  exceeding  100.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  the  country  churches  which  are  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  cities  and  the  more  populous  village  centers  are  the  weakest 
and  the  most  obvious  sufferers  from  competition  with  town  and 
village  churches. 

Turning  to  the  cjucstion  of  gain  or  loss  in  membership,  it  may 
be  noted,  first,  that  exactly  one-half  of  the  churches  in  Columbia 

68 


-^'"-'•2!^-.— 1 


■  Community    Boundor,^ 
"Ntighborhood   Boundary 
*  Parish    Qoundcrtj 

-  Por.sh*   Church  Connfct.nj  Lw 

■  Crcult  of  Pastor 


KEY    AND    SYMBOLS 

•  Homlct 

*  V,lla,« 

®  Towo  -  o»«r  S.OOO 
D  Church  -Wh.te 
B  Church -Colored 

D   Church -Whit*  with  Poster'*  R«s<d«ncc 
3  Church -Colorfd. with  Postor'i  R<siden« 


4  Postor-i   Rfj.dfnce  n.thout  Church-lVh.fc 

4  Pastors  Residence  without  Chur:hColor«d 
■  Abandoned  Church,  a  Inach.e  Churcn 
IS  Sundoi,  School  without   Church  -White 

iS  Sundoy  School  w.theut  Church -Colored 

5  Church  utinj  School    B'dj. 


COLUMBIA    COUNTY,    SHOWIXG    CIRCUITS 


69 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

and  63  per  cent,  of  those  in  Harford  County  made  a  net  gain  in 
membership  in  the  year  preceding  the  survey.  About  one  cliurch  in 
six  in  the  two  counties  suffered  a  net  loss,  the  remaining  number 
breaking  even  on  the  year.  Those  churches  whose  membership 
records  are  available  for  a  period  of  ten  years  show  commendable 
progress.  During  the  first  half  of  the  last  decade,  membership  in- 
creased but  slightly,  but  during  the  last  five  years  the  gain  was 
nearly  50  per  cent.  The  rate  of  gain  in  Columbia  County  was 
slightly  higher  than  in  Harford  County.  The  net  gain  for  the  past 
year  was  at  practically  the  same  rate  as  the  ten-year  average.     Prac- 


CHURCH  GROWTH  AS  EFFECTED  BY 
THE  AMOUNT  OF  PASTORAL  SERVICE 


CHURCHES   WITH 

FULL  TIME  OF 

A  MINISTER 


CHURCHES  WITH 

HALF   TIME  OF 

A   MINISTER 


CHURCHES  WITH 
LESS  THAN  HALF  TIME 
OF  A   MINISTER 


28%  

/^"^^■f  /^"^^  20%  ^-^^^^ 

/  ^^^k  27%  /  ^^^^  CAINEDI  ^^^k 

(  ^-|^^  ^m 

NEDl  y  ^^^^^^MlOST  ^^^^^^pToST 


Chart  based  on  figures  from  174  Protestant  churches 


CHART   III 


tically  one-half  of  all  the  churches  which  made  a  net  gain  last 
year  added  more  than  10  per  cent,  of  their  former  net  active  mem- 
bership. About  the  same  proportion  of  the  village  and  country 
churches  gained  during  the  year.  The  total  gain  for  the  two  counties 
was  about  10  per  cent,  of  the  former  active  membership,  whereas 
the  net  gain  was  about  7  per  cent. 

Three-fourths  of  those  joining  the  churches  during  the  year 
came  in  by  confirmation  or  confession  of  faith.  l"he  gains  by  letter 
were  almost  sufficient  to  offset  the  loss  by  death  or  removal.  The 
causes  of  gain  or  loss  are  frequently  obscure.  Many  facts,  some 
of  them  difficult  to  measure,  have  to  be  taken  into  account.  Some 
of  these  are  locally  significant  but  do  not  provide  a  conclusive  basis 
for  generalization.  Vox  example,  in  Columbia  County  village 
churches  as  a  rule  make  a  much  better  showing  than  the  country 
churches.     Here  there  is  a  growing  tendency  toward  the  centering 

70 


CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP 

of  interest  in  the  village  which  is  reflecting  itself  in  church  life, 
llie  village  churches  are  better  organized  and  have  more  pastoral 
oversight.  They  made,  therefore,  a  substantially  better  record  for 
the  year.  In  Harford  County,  however,  the  reverse  is  the  case, 
but  here  the  country  churches  have  not  been  so  handicapped  in  the 
matter  of  pastoral  service,  and  are  generally  larger  and  stronger 
than  they  are  in  Columbia  County. 

Wanted ! — A  Mission  Policy 

The  residence  of  pastors  and  the  distribution  of  pastoral  service 
have  a  clear  relation  to  growth.     Among  the  churches  that  have 


CHURCHES  CLASSIFIED  ACCORDING  TO 
RESIDENCE    OF   THE   MINISTERS 


I  With 

I  No  Pastor 


iWithNon-  I iWith 

!  Resident  Pastor     I 1  Resident  Pastor 


Town  and 
Village 

Country 


Town  and 
Village 

Country 


COLUMBIA    CO.    CHURCHES 

20%  40%  60%  80% 


HARFORD    CO.     CHURCHES 


100% 


gained  the  percentage  having  resident  pastors  is  higher  than  the 
percentage  for  the  counties  as  a  whole.  Of  all  the  churches  having 
resident  pastors  71  per  cent,  gained,  as  compared  with  53  per  cent, 
of  those  having  non-resident  pastors  or  no  pastors.  Of  the  churches 
which  do  not  have  to  share  their  pastors  with  other  churches  72  per 
cent,  gained,  as  compared  with  27  per  cent,  for  churches  on  two- 
point  circuits,  17  per  cent,  on  three-,  24  per  cent,  on  four-,  17  per 
cent,  on  five-,  and  2  per  cent,  on  six-point  circuits.  The  advantage 
is,  therefore,  all  with  the  one-point  charge. 

Size  of  membership  has  a  relation  to  growth.  The  greater  the 
resources  in  personnel,  finance,  and  enthusiasm  of  members,  the 
better  the  organization.  All  the  churches  which  have  a  membership 
of  more  than  150  made  a  net  gain  last  year.  The  percentage  of 
churches    gaining   and   the    average    size    taper    off    together.      Of 

71 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IX  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

churches  with  menihcrsliips  between  100  and  150.  a  little  less  than 
three-fourths  gained,  of  those  Ijetween  25  and  100,  a  little 
less  than  two-thirds  gained,  while  of  those  with  memberships  of  25 
or  less,  one-sixth  gained. 


CHURCHES    GAINING    AND    LOSING 
DURING    ONE    YEAR    PERIOD 


COLUMBIA     COUNTY 
100    CHURCHES 


HARFORD  COUNTY 

74    CHURCHES 


£1  5% 
REMAINED 
STATIONARY 


RELATION  OF  SIZE 
OF  CHURCH   MEMBERSHIP  TO  GAIN 


SMALL 
CHURCHES 


MEDIUM 
CHURCHES 


LARGE 
CHURCHES 


60%  38% 


0-50 
MEMBERS 


50-100 
MEMBERS 


EDl  / 

OVER  100 
MEMBERS 


Chart  based  on  figures  from  174  Protestant  churches 


In  Columbia  County,  there  is  a  wide  difference  between  the 
"best"  evangelized  and  the  "poorest"  evangelized  communities,  pre- 
viously referred  to,  in  the  ])ercentage  of  churches  growing.  In  the 
"best"  evangelized  comnmnitics  just  one-half  of  the  churches  made 

72 


CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP 

a  gain  last  year;  in  the  "poorest"  evangelized  conmiunities,  where 
there  are,  on  the  average,  seventy-five  more  persons  per  church  and 
where  the  numher  of  nn-evangelizcd  persons  per  church  is  greater 
by  166,  just  one- fourth  of  the  churches  gained. 

It  may  be  considered  that  these  i)oints  all  come  to  the  y*ame 
thing,  which  is  that  the  well  organized,  well  manned  churches  in  the 
populous  neighborhoods  where  religious  traditions  have  taken  firmest 
root  are  growing,  while  the  smaller,  unorganized,  under-manned 
churches  in  the  less  favorable  locations,  with  the  smaller  initial 
support,  are  not  growing.  Rut  this  is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  exactly 
why  we  have  or  should  have  a  mission  policy.  It  is  a  lack  of  any 
well  defined  strategy  for  supporting  weak  points  that  leaves  feeble 
churches  to  grow  more  feeble  and  waits  for  a  long  drawn-out  proc- 
ess of  attrition  to  work  out  the  problem  of  overchurching  and  leave 
the  field  to  the  churches  equipped  to  serve  it  adequately.  In  the 
meantime,  there  must  be  a  large  proportion  of  the  population  and  a 
large  part  of  the  territory  essentially  untouched  by  the  Church. 


73 


CHAPTER  X 
Organizations  Within  the  Church 


fc>' 


THE  first  and  most  important  of  the  organizations  within 
the  churches  is  the  Sunday  school.  Ninety  of  the  100 
churches  in  Cohimhia  County  and  sixty-eight  of  the  sev- 
enty-four in  Harford  maintain  Sunday  schools.  It  is  in  this  branch 
of  church  work  that  Columbia  County  makes  its  best  record.  The 
ten  churches  which  have  no  Sunday  schools  are  all  small,  with  an 
aggregate  membership  of  but  172.  For  the  other  ninety  churches 
the  Sunday  school  enrollment  exceeds  the  resident  church  member- 
ship by  a  considerable  margin.  The  country  churches  make  a  better 
record  in  this  particular  than  the  village  churches.  In  forty-three 
village  churches  the  resident  church  membership  slightly  exceeds  the 
Sunday  school  enrollment  in  the  aggregate.  In  forty-seven  country 
churches  the  total  Sunday  school  enrollment  exceeds  the  resident 
church  membership  by  nearly  one-third.  The  Sunday  school  en- 
rollment that  exceeds  the  church  membership  is  usually  a  promise 
of  future  growth  and  a  sign  of  an  all-round  healthy  condition.  In 
this  case  it  is  also  an  indication  that  the  Sunday  school  is  more 
flexible  in  its  organization  and  program  than  is  the  Church  and 
gains  adherents  whom  the  Church  is  subsecjuently  imable  to  hold. 
Here  we  see  evidence  both  of  the  value  of  the  increasing  community 
interest  of  the  Sunday  school  and  of  the  weakness  of  the  Church's 
recruiting  policy.  In  Harford  County,  tlie  record  is  not  nearly  so 
imjiressive,  the  total  Sunday  school  enrollment  being  less  than  three- 
fourths  the  combined  membership  of  the  churches,  while  of  the 
Sunday  school  enrollment,  less  than  half  consists  of  children  under 
sixteen.  For  the  two  counties  as  a  whole,  the  regular  weekly  attend- 
ance averages  a  little  less  than  two-thirds  the  enrollment,  being 
proportionately  smallest  in  the  country  and  largest  in  the  town. 

A  Goodly  Showing 

The  progress  of  the  Sunday  schools  of  Columbia  County  is 
largely  due  to  its  splendid  County  Sunday  School  Association. 
This  is  one  of  the  finest  of  such  associations  in  the  entire  State  and 
is  one  of  the  most  active  and  influential  organizations  in  the  county. 

74 


ORGANIZATIONS  WITHIN  THE  CHURCH 

It  has  had  for  years  efficient  and  interested  leadershi]x  The  asso- 
ciation has  conducted  a  unique  experiment  in  cooperation  by  hold- 
ing an  annual  series  of  conferences  in  conjunction  with  the  County 
Farm  lUircau  and  the  Comity  Suj^crintendent  of  Schools.  Five  two- 
day  conferences  have  been  held  each  year,  coml)ining  a  discussion 
of  economic,  educational  and  Sunday  school  matters.  In  both 
counties  a  fair  begmning  has  been  made  in  organizing  the  schools 
in  accordance  with  modern  educational  ideas.  A  cradle  roll,  a  home 
department  and  the  organized  classes  are  features  of  an  increasing 


r 

m 


v'*^.,,/i^^^^ 


RING-AROUND-A-ROSIE 
The    Kindergarten    of   a    Daily    Vacation    Bible    School    in    Columbia    County. 


proportion  of  the  schools.  Mission  study  is  being  introduced  and 
the  schools  are  interested  in  making  regular  missionary  ofiferings. 
Social  affairs  of  one  sort  and  another  are  fairly  common,  and  there 
are  a  few  instances  of  specialized  athletics  or  organized  activities. 
Teacher  training  and  leadership  training  are  still  far  from  com- 
mon, but  nearly  one-third  of  the  schools  have  classes  to  prepare 
pupils  for  church  membership,  and  a  somewhat  fewer  number 
regularly  observe  Decision  Day.  The  recruiting  possibilities  of  the 
Sunday  school  are  far  from  realized,  but  even  so,  the  Sunday  schools 
furnished  last  year  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  new  members  added 
to  the  churches  on  confession.  During  the  past  ten  years,  nine 
pupils  from  Harford  County  Sunday  schools  and  twenty-nine  from 

75 


thp:  country  church  in  industrial  zones 

Columbia  Sunday  schools  have  entered  some  form  of  definite  Chris- 
tian service. 

There  are  various  other  types  of  organizations  within  the 
churches,  of  which  the  most  numerous  are  the  women's  societies. 
These  are  found  in  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  churches,  and  have 
a  combined  membership  of  more  than  3,000.  Young  people's  or- 
ganizations are  fewer  in  number.  They  are  found  in  little  more 
than  one-third  of  the  churches  and  have  a  combined  enrollment  of 
2,665.  The  boys  and  girls  and  the  men  are  the  unorganized  groups. 
There  are  only  seven  specific  organizations  for  boys  and  eleven  for 
girls.     Only  nine  churches  have  organizations  for  men. 


76 


CHAPTER  XI 

Other  Forms  of  Religious  Work 

Roman  Catholic  Church 

THE  seven  Roman  Catholic  churches  of  Harford  County  care 
simply  for  their  people.  The  parishes  cover  the  whole 
territory  without  overlapping.  The  priests  are  devoted 
and  broadminded  men,  held  in  high  esteem  by  Catholic  and  Prot- 
estant alike.  Complete  information  about  these  churches  is  not 
available.  Five  churches  report  a  total  property  valuation  of  $179,- 
000.  The  membership  of  the  four  churches  reporting  is  910,  and 
the  total  number  of  Roman  Catholics,  as  reported  by  the  Census  of 
Religious  Bodies  for  1916,  is  1,637.  Nearly  every  church  main- 
tains devotional  organizations  both  for  men  and  for  women,  llie 
chief  social  activities  of  the  churches  are  the  tournaments  held  each 
summer.  These  attract  many  hundreds  of  people,  and  they  also 
provide  a  considerable  ]:)art  of  the  running  expenses  of  the  churches. 
Another  Catholic  church  is  to  be  erected  at  Aberdeen.  Regular 
services,  apart  from  those  in  the  churches,  are  held  both  at  Aber- 
deen and  at  the  Arsenal.     There  is  a  parochial  school  at  Bel  Air. 

In  the  rural  districts  of  Columbia  County,  there  are  only  three 
Roman  Catholic  churches — a  Polish  Catholic  church  at  Roaring 
Creek,  and  Greek  and  Irish  Catholic  churches  in  Centralia.  The 
last  has  the  largest  membership,  and  a  fine  parochial  school  is  main- 
tained in  connection  with  the  church.  There  is  a  large  Greek  Ortho- 
dox church  also  at  Centralia. 

Colored  Church  Life  in  Harford  County 

Of  the  colored  men  over  twenty-one  years  of  age  nearly  one- 
eighth  operate  farms.  The  proportion  of  colored  farmers  that  are 
tenants,  17.4  per  cent.,  is  not  much  higher  than  the  rate  for  all 
farmers.  In  several  communities,  large,  well  managed  and  pros- 
perous farms  are  owned  by  colored  men.  Of  the  rest  of  the  col- 
ored male  population,  the  majority  are  farm  hands.  Some  are  en- 
gaged upon  public  works,  especially  on  the  roads  and  at  the  Proving 
Ground.  Many  colored  women  go  out  to  domestic  service.  In  the 
last  fifteen  years,  there  has  been  a  growing  tendency  for  colored 

77 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

pupils  to  attend  high  school,  and  a  nuniher  have  attained  graduation. 
There  are  in  Harford  County  twenty-one  organized  colored 
churches,  and  two  colored  missions,  serving  a  total  of  4,604  people. 
Each  of  the  twenty-one  organizations  owns  a  huilding.  Twenty 
of  these  church  edifices  are  of  wood,  and  one  is  of  concrete.  The 
condition  of  six  is  reported  to  he  fair,  that  of  eleven  good,  and  that 
of  four  very  good.  The  total  seating  capacity  is  5,600,  more  than 
the  colored  population.  The  total  valuation  for  the  twenty  churches 
for   which   information   is  availahle '^'   is  $61,400,   and  the  average 


joi;    Tiii 


Fiil;|,l(,\-i;nK.\ 


The  arcliitecttirc  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Chinch  at 
Cciitralia  strikes  an  exotic  note  amid  its  I'lain  sur- 
roundings. 

valuation  is  $3,070.  Six  churches  own  parsonages,  whicli  have  a 
comhined  valuation  of  $10,400.  All  hut  one  are  reported  as  in 
good  condition.  Thirteen  of  the  church  buildings  are  of  the  tradi- 
tional one-room  type ;  five  have  two  rooms  each,  and  three  have 
three  rooms. 

In  handling  their  funds,  fifteen  churches  use  a  comprehensive 
budget,  and  four  other  churches  use  the  budget  svstem  for  local 


*  One  church  had  no  available  records. 

78 


OTHER  FORMS  OF  RELIGIOUS  WORK 

expenses.  Nine  churches  employ  weekly  envelopes.  Twelve  collect 
monthly,  and  sixteen  collect  annually.  Half  the  churches  make  an 
annual  every-memher  canvass. 

The  total  amount  raised  during  the  year  preceding  the  survey 
was  $13,770.50.  Of  this.  44  per  cent,  was  raised  by  subscription, 
55  per  cent,  by  collection,  and  1  per  cent,  by  miscellaneous  methods. 
The  average  per  capita  contribution  per  active  member  was  $21.62. 
Iliis  is  $3.70  more  per  capita  than  the  average  contribution  of  the 
white  Protestant  churches  in  Harford  and  practically  double  the 
average  per  capita  contribution  in  Columbia. 


A     COLORED    CHURCH     AT     HAVRE    DE    GRACE 
The   colored   churches    of    Harford    County    are   flourishing    and    well    supported. 

The  total  amount  spent  by  all  the  colored  churches  during  the 
same  year  w'as  $14,964.  Of  this  total,  56  per  cent,  was  applied  to 
salaries,  13  per  cent,  to  missions  and  benevolences  and  31  per  cent, 
to  contingent  expenses.  Nine  churches  have  deficits.  The  net 
deficit  for  the  colored  churches  is  $1,193.50.  For  the  other  churches, 
there  is  a  balance  between  receipts  and  expenditures. 

The  total  membership  of  the  twenty  churches  is  940,  which 
forms  20.4  per  cent,  of  the  total  colored  population.  Of  the  church 
members,  637,  or  68  per  cent.,  are  active.  The  total  net  gain  in 
church  membership  during  the  year  preceding  the  svu'vey  was  138. 

Every  church  has  at  least  one  preaching  service  a  month.  Five 
churches  have  two  services,  and  four  have  three.  Ten  churches 
have  services  every  week,  and  of  these,  one  has  six  services  a  month 

79 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

and  seven  have  two  services  each  Sunday.  Seventeen  churches  hold 
occasional  union  services. 

All  the  churches  conduct  Sunday  schools,  which  have  a  total 
enrollment  of  842,  corresponding  to  90  per  cent,  of  the  church  en- 
rollment. During  the  past  ten  years,  nine  young  people,  from  eight 
churches,  have  entered  some  form  of  Christian  work. 

Apart  from  the  Sunday  schools,  there  are  three  men's  organiza- 
tions, with  a  total  of  thirty-three  mcmhers,  and  nine  women's 
societies.  Four  churches  have  societies  for  young  people,  including 
three  Epworth  Leagues,  a  Temperance  T^eague  which  has  hcen  in 
existence  for  nearly  fifty  years,  two  choir  organizations,  and  an- 
other young  people's  society.    The  total  membership  is  102. 

Nineteen  churches  do  some  charitable  work  and  most  of  them 
have  something  in  the  form  of  social,  educational  or  cultural 
activities. 

The  twenty-one  churches  are  served  by  fourteen  ministers,  four 
of  whom  are  college  graduates.  Seven  give  full  time  to  one  church 
each ;  two  serve  one  point  each  but  have  other  occupations ;  two 
serve  two  points  each  ;  one  serves  three ;  and  two  serve  four  points 
each.  The  average  salary  is  $843.85,  including  an  allowance  of 
$250  for  each  free  parsonage. 


80 


CHAPTER  XII 
Service  to  Migrants 

By  Elizabeth   R.  I  Iookkr 

NEAR  the  canneries  that  are  so  faniihar  a  feature  in  the 
Harford  County  landscape,  may  be  seen  long,  low  build- 
ings of  a  uniform  type,  each  having  on  one  side  doors  and 
small  windows  at  regular  intervals.  Here,  for  a  few  weeks  or 
months  of  every  summer  and  fall,  are  housed  the  foreign  laborers 
without  whose  help  the  canneries  could  not  be  operated.     For  years 


MIGRANTS      LIVING     QUARTERS 

These    are    the    sheds    in    v.hich    the    seasonal    cannery    workers    sleep,    ccok    and    do    the 

family    wash. 

they  have  come  and  gone.  Except  when  attention  has  been  called 
to  them  by  some  outbreak  of  petty  thieving,  peoi)le  have  not  given 
them  much  attention.  Impulses  toward  helpfulness  have  met  with 
what  appeared  to  be  serious  obstacles.  Many  of  these  workers 
speak  little  English ;  most  of  them  are  Roman  Catholics ;  they  are 
here  for  but  a  short  period,  and  when  they  leave  seldom  return. 
Their  standard  of  living  is  so  low  that  they  may  be  presumed  not 
to  want  what  the  rest  of  the  community  requires.  For  the  most 
part,  therefore,  they  have  been  left  alone. 

81 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

"Who  Is  My  Neighbor?" 

For  the  past  two  summers,  however,  an  attempt  has  been  made 
to  bring  these  people  help.  Women's  denominational  Home  Mis- 
sion Boards  have  cooperatively  carried  on  work  for  farm  and  can- 
nery migrants  at  six  centers,  one  of  which  is  in  Harford  County 
at  Mr.  W.  E.  Robinson's  cannery  at  Hickory,  near  Bel  Air.  This 
work  has  been  conducted  by  a  committee  composed  of  representa- 
tives appointed  by  each  of  the  boards  financially  cooperating.  The 
Council  of  Women  for  Home  Missions,  the  interdenominational 
agency  of  the  women's  national  boards  and  societies,  has  acted  as 
clearing  house.  In  the  summer  of  1920,  eight  boards  furnished  the 
funds;  during  1921,  ten  boards.  Of  the  six  centers,  the  largest  is 
the  one  at  Hickory.  The  location  is  so  central  for  the  county  that 
many  people  have  seen  the  picturesque  pavilion  erected  by  Mr. 
Robinson,  the  row  of  clean  babies  in  their  white  baskets,  and  the 
children  at  their  lessons,  their  hot  lunches  or  their  games.  There 
were  so  many  of  the  children  just  at  the  one  cannery, — and  in  a 
slack  season,  too, — and  they  were  so  teachable  and  so  much  in  need 
of  help,  that  many  people,  especially  mothers,  must  have  begun  to 
wonder  about  the  children  at  canneries  close  to  their  homes. 

How  many  are  there  of  these  foreigners  throughout  the  county 
during  a  prosperous  season?  That  is  hard  to  tell,  for  records  of 
individuals  are  not  kept.  The  number  working  at  a  cannery  varies 
here  from  twenty  to  250.  In  the  417  canneries  of  Maryland  during 
September,  the  month  when  the  largest  number  is  at  work,  there 
are,  according  to  the  United  States  Census  of  Manufactures  for 
1914,  over  31,000  wage  earners.  If  these  laborers  were  evenly  dis- 
tributed Harford  would  have  in  its  ninety-nine  canneries  of  fruit 
and  vegetables  more  than  7,000  persons.  As  the  State  has  a  few  es- 
tablishments much  larger  than  any  in  Harford,  the  number  must  be 
somewhat  smaller ;  but  it  can  hardly  be  less  than  6.000.  This  total 
is  not  entirely  composed  of  migrants,  for  some  of  the  smaller  can- 
neries depend  partly  or  wholly  upon  local  labor ;  but  the  discrepancy 
is  probably  counterbalanced  by  migrants  who  come  to  work  in 
tlie  fields.  At  least  500  other  migrants  come  for  the  fishing  season, 
and  more  to  work  in  canneries  preserving  fish.  The  workers 
are  frequently  accompanied  by  children.  At  Hickory  this  summer, 
with  105  workers,  there  were  forty-five  children  under  the  legal 
age  for  work.  The  colonies  must  include  many  hundreds  of  little 
children. 


89 


SERVICE  TO  MIGRANTS 


AN    ENLIGHTENED    CANNERY    OWNER 

Mr.    W.    E.    Robinson,    of    Uel    Air,    and    some    of    the    Polish    women    and    children    who 
have  benefited   by   the   social   work   carried   on   at   his   cannery. 


83 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH   IX   INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

Canning  by  Nationality 

Since  the  work  is  seasonal  and  iiilcrniitlent,  and  does  not  re- 
quire skilled  labor  or  command  hit^h  pay,  the  laborers  available  for 
it  are  foreigners  of  recent  importation  and  a  low  stage  of  develop- 
ment. Most  of  those  employed  in  Harford  are  Poles:  there  are 
also  a  few  Germans,  Bohemians,  and  Slavs.  For  the  sake  of  har- 
mony, efforts  are  made  to  have  all  the  i)eople  at  a  given  cannery 
of  the  same  nationality  and  religion.  The  canner  tells  his  "row 
boss"  how  many  workers  he  will  need,  and  the  "row  boss"  hires 
them  through  an  agency  in  Baltimore. 


WIIKRIC    THK    TOMATOES     MEKT    THE    CANS 

This    is    the    unloailing    shed    cf    a    typical    cannery    at    which    the    newly    picked    vegetables 

are    received. 


The  lengtli  of  working  season  dejiends  on  what  crops,  and  how 
many  crops  are  canned.  Canneries  dealing  only  with  tomatoes  are 
in  operation  from  about  the  middle  of  August  until  frost  time, 
whicli  here  comes  about  the  middle  of  October.  Esta])lishments 
canning  only  corn  run  from  the  middle  of  August  for  live  or  six 
weeks.  Those  that  can  beans  as  well  as  corn  or  tomatoes  may  open 
as  early  as  July  20;  and  those  canneries  that  follow  tomatoes  with 
apples  may  continue  to  work  almost  until  Christmas.  The  working 
season,  therefore,  varies  from  five  or  six  weeks  to  several  months. 

In  the  shacks  where  the  people  are  housed,  single  rooms,  sep- 

84 


SERVICE  TO  MIGRANTS 

arated  only  by  wooden  partitions,  arc  occupied  by  entire  families. 
The  beds  are  raised  boxes  filled  with  straw.  In  some  cases,  the 
rooms  are  open  in  front,  making  the  whole  structure  like  a  row  of 
horse  sheds.  The  women  do  their  cooking  out  of  doors.  Sanita- 
tion is  extremely  poor.  Work  is  done  in  places  sometimes  too  hot, 
sometimes  draughty,  freciuently  dark  and  usually  damp.  Seats  are 
often  without  backs ;  knives  are  frequently  dull.  The  presence  of 
machinery  entails  noise,  nervous  strain,  and  occasional  accidents. 
Waste  is  sometimes  allowed  to  become  a  source  of  annoyance  and 
danger.  The  irregular  ripening  of  perishable  products  results  in 
intermittent  periods  of  hurried  and  protracted  toil. 

These  strangers  are  not,  as  one  might  suppose,  residents  else- 
where who  come  to  Harford  to  earn  extra  pennies  while  they  enjoy 
an  outing  in  the  country.  They  are  transients  everywhere  ;  aliens, 
who.  because  of  their  undeveloped  intelligence,  their  ignorance  of 
English,  and  their  lack  of  any  special  skill,  must  travel  hither  and 
thither,  to  perform  heavy  drudgery  for  an  uncertain  reward.  Aluch 
has  been  said  and  written  about  these  migrant  laborers.  Among 
New  Americans  they  are  the  most  retarded  class.  If  neglected, 
they  will  become  a  menace  to  the  future  prosperity  of  America.  As 
yet  they  are  not  fully  awake  to  the  inequality  of  their  lot ;  they  are 
ignorant  and  unorganized.  W^hat  might  some  day  happen  may  be 
guessed  from  the  hop-field  riots  at  \Mieatland,  California. 

The  presence  of  these  thousands  of  workers  with  their  chil- 
dren oft'ers  the  people  of  the  county  a  wonderful  social  opportunity. 
These  strangers  camp  at  the  doors  of  every  one  of  the  comnuuiities ; 
they  are  grouped  in  convenient  colonies  large  enough  to  repay  efifort 
and  small  enough  to  aUow  personal  and  efifective  work  ;  and  they 
are  withdrawn  from  the  temptations  and  distractions  of  the  city. 
The  canneries  are  owned  not  by  large  and  impersonal  corporations, 
but  by  individuals,  in  many  cases  by  public-spirited  men,  leaders  in 
the  churches,  who  would  cooperate  with  undertakings  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  the  migrants. 

Child  Workers 

Among  the  workers  there  are  children.  Maryland  law  allows 
children  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age,  upon  obtaining 
a  certificate,  to  work  at  canneries  until  the  middle  of  October. 
Those  given  certificates  are  supposed  to  have  finished  the  fifth  grade, 
and  to  have  passed  an  examination  by  a  physician.  At  canneries 
last  summer  were  big  boys  of  twelve  and  fourteen  who  could  not 

85 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IX  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

write  their  names.  Children  are  enii:)loyed  mainly  at  canneries  pre- 
serving beans,  where  they  both  gather  the  beans  and  snip  them. 

As  tomatoes  form  the  most  important  crop  canned,  the  canneries 
packing  them  employ  the  largest  number  of  migrants.  If  no  other 
crop  is  handled,  about  the  middle  of  October  the  families  are  trans- 
ported back  to  Baltimore.  The  children  are  then  supposed  to  go 
to  school.  But  clothes  are  not  ready ;  and  being  behind  the  rest 
makes  the  children  dread  to  appear.  It  may  be  November  before 
they  are  all  in  their  places.  The  parochial  schools  of  the  sections 
of  Baltimore  to  which  these  people  betake  themselves  have  a  slim 
attendance  during  the  first  six  wrecks  of  the  school  year.  And  very 
soon,  the  people  are  transported  to  the  South,  to  work  in  the  oyster 
canneries,  and  the  children  are  again  without  a  school. 

Harford  people,  on  their  side,  do  not  need  every  moment  of  time 
and  every  ounce  of  energy  for  the  bare  struggle  of  earning  a  living. 
They  have  a  margin  of  time,  of  energy  and  of  money.  Harford 
women  did  splendid  volunteer  service  in  war  time  under  the  Red 
Cross.  Many  Harford  young  people  enjoy  considerable  leisure, 
especially  in  summer.  If  they  lived  in  a  city,  many  of  these  women 
and  young  people  would  work  in  the  tenements  or  settlement  houses 
of  the  slums.     The  neediest  of  slum  people  annually  come  to  them. 

Especially  distressing  is  the  plight  of  the  children.  Their  moth- 
ers cannot  tend  them,  for  they  have  neither  time  nor  knowledge. 
The  workers  at  Hickory  found  the  little  babies  filthy  and  sometimes 
diseased  or  covered  with  sores.  Children  a  little  older  tumble  about 
neglected,  under-nourished,  quarrelsome.  Pjoys  and  girls  old  enough 
to  work  are  lamentably  ignorant  of  English,  common  school 
branches,  cooking  and  sewing,  and  even  of  the  simplest  of  every- 
day virtues.  The  mothers,  upon  whom  the  burden  falls,  need  to 
have  that  burden  lightened  through  occasional  recreation  and  sym- 
pathetic advice  on  the  care  and  improvement  of  their  children.  The 
younger  men,  if  taught  English  and  the  rudiments  of  arithmetic, 
are  ca])ablc  of  developing  into  "row  bosses,"  or  of  becoming  fitted 
for  better  kinds  of  work.  All  groups  need  training  in  morals  and 
religion. 

"Unto  the  Least  of  These — " 

The  common  objections  to  undertaking  work  for  the  migrants 
may  need  a  few  words  of  answer.  "They  cannot  speak  English." 
True!  I'ut  the  children  understand  more  than  their  shyness  allows 
to  appear ;  and  to  learn  more  they  must  be  taught,  and  must  be 

86' 


WAITING   FOR  TEACHER 


THE    LESSON    HOUR 

The  Porch   of  the   Pavilion   at   Hickory   makes  an   admirable   Class   Room    for   these   little 

Foreigners. 


87 


THE   COUNTRY  CHURCH   IX   INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

brought  into  contact  with  American  children.  .  ,  .  "They  are  Roman 
Cathohcs."  .  .  .  ^'es !  But  one  of  the  broad-minded  priests  of 
Harford  gave  his  approval  to  the  social  center  at  ]Iickory,  and 
told  one  of  the  workers  that  such  a  task  needed  a  woman.  .  .  . 
"They  stay  here  so  short  a  time."  .  .  .  /Mas !  They  stay  only  a 
short  time  anywhere ;  and  here  circumstances  are  so  favorable  that 
in  the  short  i)eriod  children's  entire  lives  may  be  changed.  .  .  . 
"They  are  strangers.  We  owe  no  duty  to  them."  .  .  .  Yes !  But 
they  are  neighbors  long  enough  to  add  to  the  general  prosperity  of 
the  residents  by  their  presence  and  their  labor. 

To  determine  how  these  urgent  needs  can  be  met  by  Harford 
people  one  has  merely  to  consider  the  fine  example  at  Hickory,  near 
Bel  Air.  This  example  is  all  the  more  notable  since  it  is 
provided  at  the  expense  of  the  cannery  proprietor,  Mr. 
W.  E.  Robinson.  The  building  provided  has  three  parts :  a  nursery 
and  dispensary,  a  domestic  science  and  lunch  room,  and  a  big  porch. 
The  Home  Mission  Boards  sent  last  summer  three  young  college 
women,  each  of  whom  had  received  special  training,  one  in  nursing, 
the  second  in  domestic  science,  the  third  in  plax'grdund  activities. 
The  nurse  washed  and  tended  the  seven  or  eight  babies,  gave  any 
needed  physical  attention  to  the  other  children  and  administered 
first  aid  to  cases  ranging  from  accidents  connected  with  machinery 
to  human  bites.  This  work  received  the  cooperation  of  the  county 
Red  Cross  nurse.  Ihe  other  two  workers  conducted  a  school,  in- 
cluding religious  exercises,  Bible  stories,  a  little  common  school 
teaching,  sewing,  singing,  patriotic  exercises,  and  many  kindred 
activities.  At  noon,  the  domestic  science  worker  prepared  a  hot 
lunch,  making  use  of  the  opportunity  to  teach  the  little  girls  some- 
thing about  cooking.  The  meal  was  enjoyed  by  from  thirty  to  fifty- 
five  children,  tli(;se  who  were  able  paying  three  cents  each.  The 
supervisor  of  play  conducted  games  both  on  the  ])orch  and  in  ib.e 
wood  close  by,  where  the  Council  of  Women  had  placed  such  siniiile 
apparatus  as  swings  and  slides.  After  working  hours,  there  was  a 
class  for  the  larger  girls  in  cooking,  sewing,  and  English;  and  in  the 
evening,  a  class  for  big  boys  in  English  and  arithmetic.  Occasional 
evening  entertainments,  including  stercopticon  views,  were  given  for 
the  whole  colony. 

On  days  when  the  cannery  did  not  run,  some  of  the  women  w^ent 
over  to  the  jjavilion.  They  heard  talks  on  the  care  of  chiblren, 
and  a  U-w  learned  something  about  sewing  on  a  sewing  machine 
that  had  been  donated.  L^sed  cliildren's  dresses,  contributed  by 
persons    interested,    were   sold    for   ten   cents   ajncce.      An   interde- 

88 


SERVICE  TO  MIGRANTS 

nominatiuiial  committee  of  P)cl  Air  women  stood  lieliind  the  work, 
providing  food  and  clothing  and  co6i)erating  with  the  workers  in 
other  ways.  Mr.  Robinson  lent  a  Ford  for  the  transportation  of 
the  workers,  and  was  otherwise  helpful.  Assistance  was  rendered 
also  by  many  other  individuals.  The  amount  expended  by  the 
Women's  Boards,  sums  received  for  lunches  and  garments  having 
been  deducted,  was  $983.48.  The  undertaking  won  that  elusive  and 
priceless  thing,  the  confidence  of  these  shy,  wild  strangers  ;  and  in 
the  six  weeks  during  which  the  center  was  in  operation  there  was 
effected  a  noticeal)le  change  in  the  health,  manners  and  spirits  of 
the  children. 

Please  Page  More  Mr.  Robinsons ! 

In  the  light  of  this  experiment,  nuich  can  be  done  for  the  mi- 
grants that  make  their  periodical  appearance  in  every  corner  of 
Harford  County.  There  are  two  county-wide  agencies,  the  County 
Relief  Committee  and  the  Harford  Chapter  of  the  Red  Cross,  either 
of  which,  in  the  absence  of  a  County  Union  of  churches,  could  be 
empowered  to  serve  as  trustee  for  funds  and  to  correlate  local  un- 
dertakings. The  Women's  Boards  of  Home  Missions,  who  have 
already  operated  a  successful  social  center  on  the  ground  could,  if 
provided  with  funds,  conduct  similar  centers  in  other  sections.  If 
three  such  centers  were  in  operation,  the  Boards  without  much  ad- 
ditional expense  could  conduct  a  training  course  in  which  women 
and  young  people  could  learn  to  be  of  assistance  to  the  regular 
workers,  to  carry  on  under  supervision  certain  activities  at  out- 
lying canneries,  and  to  prolong  some  of  the  work  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  workers.  A  few  of  these  volunteer  workers  might 
wish  later  to  go  elsewhere  for  more  complete  training.  The  work 
and  responsibilty  undertaken  at  first  by  the  Boards  would  pass  into 
the  hands  of  local  agencies ;  and  these  under  ideal  conditions  would 
be  coordinated  by  a  county  organization  of  churches.  Gradually 
the  work  could  be  extended  till  it  covered  all  the  canneries  of  the 
county. 

The  activities  of  a  social  center  require  a  shelter  and  some  equip- 
ment. The  bad  times  in  the  canning  business  may  render  it  impos- 
sible for  many  canneries,  with  the  best  of  will,  to  play  the  generous 
part  taken  by  Mr.  Robinson.  If  no  building  can  be  erected  or  adapted 
to  the  requirements,  the  public  can  do  what  the  Council  of  Women 
for  Home  Missions  did  this  summer  at  its  welfare  station  fifteen 
miles    from   Dover,   Delaware — it   can   use   a  portable  house,    fur- 

89 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

nished  as  the  model  of  an  inexpensive  country  home.  The  War 
gave  us  model  huts  that  might  be  adopted  for  this  transitory  type 
of  work,  P^ood,  clothing,  furniture,  and  the  many  other  articles  re- 
quired, could  be  procured  through  some  woman's  society  or  com- 
munity committee  from  philanthropic  people  in  each  section.  The 
money  could  be  subscribed  by  individuals,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Red 
Cross,  or  by  churches,  as  in  many  instances  in  connection  with  the 
Relief  Fund.  Perhaps  some  day  Harford,  following  the  example  of 
Prince  George's  County,  may  provide  money  for  social  work  through 
a  tax  assessed  by  the  County  Commissioners. 

It's  Up  to  Maryland 

A  social  center  can  serve  the  migrants  in  many  ways,  but  it 
cannot  meet  completely  their  needs  for  education  and  for  religion. 
The  children  must  go  to  school.  Harford  school  authorities  are 
willing  to  receive  these  children  for  the  short  period  of  their  stay; 
but  few  of  them  present  themselves.  In  regard  to  a  similar  situa- 
tion in  New  York,  the  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission  has 
made  the  following  suggestion  :  * 

It  is  our  opinion  that  it  can  be  done  ...  by  authorizing  the  State  Edu- 
cation Department,  where  there  is  a  large  colony,  to  establish  schools,  and 
where  there  are  only  a  few  foreign  children,  to  lend  financial  assistance  to 
the  local  school  authorities  on  condition  that  they  educate  the  foreign  children. 

In  Harford  County  the  number  of  children  in  a  colony  is  com- 
paratively small,  and  there  are  a  great  many  small  country  schools, 
often  not  far  from  the  canneries.  Can  the  children  be  taught  in 
these  schools  to  the  profit  of  both  the  foreign  and  the  American 
children  ?  The  foreign  children  in  their  natural  state  are  hardly 
fit  to  be  received;  but  a  few  weeks  of  social  center  work  before  the 
opening  of  school  would  do  much  to  make  them  so.  It  would  also 
make  the  children  more  likely  to  attend.  It  is  our  democratic 
American  principle  that  all  classes  of  white  children  should  be  taught 
alike  and  be  taught  together.  The  little  strangers  would  learn  Eng- 
lish rapidly  if  brought  into  contact  with  children  of  their  own  age. 
And  the  American  children  might  learn  from  the  association  many 
lessons  of  helpfulness  and  sympathy. 

Before  it  is  possible  to  meet  the  moral  and  religious  needs  of 
the  migrants,  the  social  and  educational  work  is  a  necessary  pre- 
liminary.   The  strangers  must  first  of  all  be  led  to  believe  that  their 

*  .State  of  New  York:  Second  Report  of  the  Factory  Investigating  Com- 
mission.    1913.     Volume  II,  page  796. 

90 


SERVICE  TO  MIGRANTS 

would-be  benefactors  are  friendly,  and  that  they  profess  the  same 
Christianity  as  the  religious  teachers  of  their  own  land.  During 
the  next  summer  at  Hickory  it  is  hoped  to  have  services  conducted 
by  a  Polish  minister.  In  time,  the  churches  can  draw  the  children 
of  the  colonies  into  their  Sunday  schools,  and  can  arrange  for  them 
some  special  religious  exercises.  Effective  work  in  these  three 
lines,  social,  educational  and  religious,  would  transform  these  poor 
migrants  from  a  menace  to  our  civilization  into  happy  and  useful 
citizens. 


91 


CHAPTER  XIII 

**Par  Standard"  and  the  Program 
of  the  Church 

IT  is  natural  that  one  should  ask,  at  the  conclusion  of  a  study 
of  this  character,  just  what  is  the  contrihution  thnt  the  churches 
are  making  to  the  life  of  these  counties  or,  perhaps,  just 
what  it  is  that  the  churches  are  consciously  attempting  and  what  is 
the  net  value  of  their  achievements.  It  is  obvious,  of  course,  that 
religious  values  cannot  be  comprehended  in  statistical  tables.  The 
churches  which  by  any  standard  that  one  can  erect  are  the  least 
effectual,  will  often  make  spiritual  contributions  of  incalculable 
value.  This  survey  fully  recognizes  that  fact.  Nevertheless  with 
the  ideal  before  one  of  the  genuine  Christianization  of  community 
life,  it  is  reasonable  to  examine  the  apparent  purposes  of  the 
churches  as  expressed  in  their  organization  and  program. 

First,  the  general  polic}'  governing  church  extension  and  develop- 
ment has  evidently  been  a  policy  of  denominational  expansion.  The 
multiplicity  of  churches,  especially  in  Columbia  County,  their  geo- 
graphical frequency,  their  limited  range  of  influence  in  terms  of 
miles,  the  facts  that  many  of  the  recently  organized  churches  have 
been  established  in  previously  churched  communities,  and  that  few 
churches  have  undivided  fields — all  these  are  the  earmarks  of  de- 
nominationalism.  The  resulting  division  of  the  religious  forces, 
which  has  necessarily  placed  severe  limits  upon  them  in  matters 
of  equipment,  finance  and  ministerial  supply,  suggests  that  denomi- 
national prestige  rather  than  the  primary  consideration  of  com- 
munity need  has  been  the  dominant  motive  in  church  policy.  The 
idea  of  religious  unity  has  had  no  general  acceptance.  It  is  ap- 
parent also  that  the  idea  of  small,  rather  personal  groupings  of 
members  on  the  neighborhood  basis  has  prevailed  as  a  method  of 
work  rather  than  tlie  idea  of  large,  compact  parishes. 

"Whose  Service  Is  Perfect  Freedom" 

While  circumstances  limit  ideas,  what  the  churches  actually  do 
should  fairly  indicate  their  underlying  purpose  and  their  larger 
possibilities.     The  one  thing  which  they  do,  and  which  they  are  all 

92 


•TAR  STANDARD"  AND  THE  CHURCH 

equipped  to  do,  is  to  hold  puljlic  services  of  worship  with  some 
degree  of  frequency.  In  one  of  every  seven  churches  this  is  Hterally 
the  whole  sum  of  the  church  activity,  and  in  from  one-third  to  one- 
half  of  the  whole  numix-r  of  churches,  the  i)reaching  services,  the 
Sunday  school  and  certain  routine,  organizational  activities  com- 
prise the  definite  program  of  work.  The  social  and  recreational 
interest  is  increasing,  particularly  among  the  churches  of  Harford 
County,  nearly  all  of  which  supply  their  communities  with  some 
form  of  social  life.  In  the  more  isolated  communities  the  preach- 
ing services  and  the  Sunday  schools  are,  apart  from  any  formal 
intent,  of  considerable  social  as  well  as  of  religious  importance,  but 
taking  the  two  counties  as  a  whole  the  churches  keep  within  the 
realm  of  the  strictly  ecclesiastical,  and  within  a  limited  interpreta- 
tion of  that  word.  Their  impact  upon  the  general  community  life 
is  slight,  and  their  ecclesiastical  ministry  is  limited  by  the  meager- 
ness  of  their  resources.  A  Sunday  school,  a  Ladies'  Aid  Society, 
and  two,  or  even  in  some  cases  four,  preaching  services  a  month, 
with  such  pastoral  work  as  is  possible  for  a  non-resident  minister 
with  several  other  churches  to  care  for,  can  hardly  be  said  to  con- 
stitute a  completely  rounded  ministry.  The  importance  of  preach- 
ing and  religious  instruction  may  not  be  minimized,  yet  the  failure 
to  embrace  the  opportunity  for  wider  service  is  to  be  deplored.  In- 
ability to  support  preaching  and  teaching  by  the  interpretative 
activities  of  community  service  will  impose  severe  handicaps  upon 
the  religious  life  of  the  community. 

Some  interesting  and  rather  significant  instances  of  interchurch 
cooperation  should  be  noted.  In  Columbia  County  institutes  con- 
ducted under  the  auspices  of  the  Sunday  School  Association  have 
had  a  unifying  influence.  Nearly  one-fourth  of  the  churches  unite, 
at  least  occasionally,  in  union  services.  Especially  popular  are  the 
Union  Grove  meetings  at  Darlington,  Maryland.  These  have  been 
held  in  the  grove  close  to  the  village  on  Sunday  evenings  for  the 
last  seven  years.  Addresses  are  delivered,  sometimes  by  neighbor- 
ing pastors,  sometimes  by  speakers  from  a  distance.  At  these  meet- 
ings all  the  churches  in  the  community  unite  and  the  people  come 
to  them  from  miles  around.  The  attendance  ranges  from  500  to 
1,000.  Another  important  series  of  union  services  is  held  at  St. 
Mary's  Church,  Emmorton,  Maryland,  on  Sunday  evenings  during 
the  summer. 

Sixteen  churches  in  Columbia  and  Harford  Counties  are  inter- 
ested in  the  support  of  some  particular  mission  work,  either  home 
or  foreign.     Thirty-three  churches  engage  in  some  form  of   local 

93 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

charitable  work,  and  a  small  number  are  definitely  interested  in 
civic  or  agricultural  development.  The  stronger  churches  usually 
have  some  feature  in  their  program  of  an  educational,  cultural  or 
social  character. 

I'he  majority  of  the  pastors,  in  spite  of  the  handicaps  imder 
which  they  labor,  are  exceptionally  optimistic  as  to  the  future  of 
their  fields  and  believe  that  the  days  ahead  are  those  of  opportunity. 
They  fully  recognize,  however,  the  serious  problems  which  must 
be  solved,  not  only  those  which  concern  the  methods  of  the  churches 
themselves,  but  those  which  grow  out  of  the  underlying  economic 
conditions  and  the  general  social  tendencies  of  the  day. 

When  a  Church  Is  at  a  Par 

Finally,  by  way  of  general  summary,  the  churches  may  be 
analyzed  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Par  Standard.  This  Stand- 
ard was  developed  by  the  Interchurch  World  Movement ;  it  was 
worked  out  and  approved  by  the  Town  and  Country  Committee  of 
the  Home  Missions  Council,  and  has,  since  that  time,  been  approved 
by  the  rural  survey  supervisors  of  the  Interchurch  who  represented 
every  state  in  the  Union  and  were  familiar  with  the  practical  re- 
quirements of  church  work,  and  also  by  various  denominational 
societies.  The  Standard  has  been  projected,  not  as  an  ideal,  but  as 
a  fair  average  of  what  a  church  might,  in  all  reasonableness,  expect 
to  attain.  In  the  use  of  it  here,  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  give 
comparative  value  to  the  various  points  included,  which  are  by  no 
means  of  equal  value,  but  which  all  enter  into  a  complete  eciuijv 
ment  and  program. 

The  program  is  here  given  in  full,  but  there  are  certain  jioints 
on  which  reliable  information  was  not  secured  for  all  the  churches. 
The  following  table  shows,  after  each  item,  the  number  of  churches, 
out  of  Columbia  County's  100,  and  Harford  County's  74,  which 
have  met  that  particular  point  in  the  Standard,  lliose  after  which 
no  numbers  are  given  are  the  ones  on  which  information  was  not 
available. 


94 


"PAR  STANDARD"  AND  THE  CHURCH 


PAR  STANDARD  TABLE 


Adequate 
Physical     - 
Equipment 


Pastor 


Up-to-date  Parsonage  

Adequate  Church  Auditorium  Space 

Social  and  Recreational  Equipment 

Well  Equipped  Kitchen   

Organ  or  Piano   

Sunday  School  Rooms   

Stereopticon  or  Moving  Picture 
Alachine     

Sanitary  Toilets    

Horse  Sheds  or  Parking  Space  .  . . 

Property  in  Good  Repair  and  Con- 
dition       

{Resident  Pastor  
Full  Time  Pastor  
Service  Every  Sunday  
Minimum  Salary  of  $1,200  and 
Manse    


Annual     Church    Budget    Adopted 

Annually      

Finance      i  Every  Member  Canvass   

Benevolences  Equal  to257f'  Current 
Expenses     

r  Cooperation    with    other    Churches 

Meetings    ■<       in    Community     

L  Systematic  Evangelism     


Parish 


Religious 
Education 


j  Church  Serves  All  Racial  and  Oc- 
l      cupational   Groups    

'  Sunday  School  Held  Entire  Year 
Sunday    School    Enrollment    Equal 

to  Church   Membership    

Attempt      to      bring      Pupils      into 

Church     

Special      Instruction      for     Church 

Membership      

Teacher  Training  or  Normal  Class 
Provision   for  Leadership  Training 


Program 
of  Work  1 


Organized  Activities  for  Age  and 
Sex  Groups    

Cooperation  with  Boards  and  De- 
nominational Agencies    

Program  Adopted  Annually  25% 
of  Membership  Participating   . .  . 

Church  Reaching  Entire  Com- 
munity       


Columbia 
28 
99 
22 

Harford 
30 
72, 
10 

Total 

58 

172 

32 

50 

22> 

73 

4 

5 

9 

100 

69 

169 

79 

65 

144 

25 

6 

31 

Z2 

9 

56 

57 
15 
87 

71 


66 
61 

41 


17 


85 

48 

48 

28 
25 
10 

17 
20 

11 


42 


49 
34 

37 


22 


113 


115 
95 

78 


39 


46 

131 

9 

57 

38 

86 

25 
5 
2 

53 
30 
12 

2 

19 

11 

31 

11 


It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  there  are  twenty-for.r  points 
on  which  information  was  available.  The  highest  score  in  either 
county  is  nineteen  points,  which  record  is  made  by  four  churches 
in  Columbia  County  and  one  in  Harford.  Eleven  churches  in  Co- 
lumbia County  and  nine  in  Harford  score  fifteen  points  or  better. 

95 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

The  avcraj^e  ratii\t,r  for  Harford  County  is  9.4  points  per  cluirch, 
and  for  Columbia  County  9.9. 

If  the  answers  be  analyzed  according  to  the  main  topical  divi- 
sions of  the  Standard  and  if  each  county  be  given,  under  the  head 
of  each  item,  the  percentage  rating  based  on  the  number  of  actual 
affirmative  answers  out  of  the  possible  maximum,  the  following 
result  is  obtained : 

Number  of  Points  on  Percentage  of  Rating 

zvhich  Information  for 

Items                                        Is  Available  Columbia        Harford 

Physical    Eqiiii)ment    7  54.3                53.1 

Pastoral   Service     4  33.2                47 

Finance    3  56                   54.1 

Religious    Education    6  40.7                30.4 

Program    4  16.2                15.8 

It  will  be  noted  that  both  counties  make  their  best  records  in 
matters  of  finance  and  equipment,  though  these  records  are  not 
unusually  high.  Harford  County  has  a  better  record  in  pastoral 
service  and  Columbia  County  in  religious  education.  In  each  case, 
however,  the  record  for  program  is  low  beyond  all  reasonable  ex- 
I^ectations  for  counties  with  such  traditions  and  background. 


96 


CHAPTER  XIV 
Conclusions  and  Recommendations 

THIS  study  records  many  facts  which  are  distinctly  to  the 
credit  of  Harford  and  Columbia  counties.  When  the  whole 
scene  is  viewed  in  perspective,  the  favorable  impressions 
unmistakably  outweigh  the  unfavorable.  In  many  respects  these 
counties  show  us  country  life  in  its  most  attractive  phases.  Here 
is  substantial  wealth  and  a  generally  progressive  attitude  manifest- 
ing itself  in  many  ways  which  call  for  commendation.  Education- 
ally, socially  and  cooperatively,  marked  progress  is  being  made. 
There  are  enough  capable  and  public-spirited  leaders  in  both  counties 
to  lead  the  way  in  the  promotion  of  common,  practical  interests  and 
public  welfare.  The  lines  of  development  which  have  been  favor- 
ably noted  in  the  body  of  the  volume  need  not  be  here  described 
again. 

In  the  Wake  of  Industrial  Awakening 

The  full  efifect  of  that  industrial  development  to  which  reference 
was  made  in  the  opening  paragraph  of  this  report  cannot  in  all 
respects  be  accurately  measured.  It  is  not  as  yet  altogether  clear 
in  what  respects  that  industrial  expansion  has  modified,  or  will 
modify,  the  ordinary  lines  of  rural  development  under  general  mod- 
ern conditions.  Obviously,  its  first  efifect  is  seen  in  the  current  of 
population  change.  For  one  thing,  the  population  is  becoming  more 
composite.  In  cities  the  social  and  religious  agencies  have,  in  the 
last  decades,  been  placed  under  tremendous  strain  to  adapt  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  great  numbers  of  alien,  foreign-speaking 
peoples,  whose  diverse  habits,  ideals  and  traditions  these  city  com- 
munities have  struggled  to  incorporate  in  orderly  manner  into  their 
own  life.  The  country  experiences  a  different  angle  of  this  same 
problem.  The  mass  of  it  is  not  so  great.  It  has  been  in  most  case^ 
rather  an  infiltrating  process,  but  because  it  is  that  it  presents 
peculiar  difficulties.  The  process  of  what  we  call  Americanization 
is,  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  slower  in  the  country  than  in  the  city^ 

97 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IX   INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

It  is  easier  for  a  foreign  family  or  a  foreign  group  in  the  country 
to  isolate  itself  from  other  elements  in  the  community  both  socially 
and  religiously.  These  counties  have  not  discovered  how  adequately 
to  solve  the  problem  presented  by  these  new  elements  in  their  popu- 
lation. For  one  example,  there  is  a  large  foreign  population  em- 
ployed in  the  coal  mines  at  Centralia,  in  Columbia  County,  for  whom 
no  considerable  social  equipment  is  available,  and  who  have  not 
been  touched  by  any  sort  of  program  of  Americanization.  An  ad- 
mirable beginning  has  been  made  at  one  point  in  serving  the  migrant 
group  of  Harford  County  while  it  is  in  the  county,  but  it  needs  to 
be  extended  to  cover  all  the  similar  groups. 

The  second  apparent  result  of  industrial  development  has  been 
in  the  redistribution  of  population.  Some  few  small  communities 
have  been  left  comparatively  isolated  and  undeveloped,  while  in 
most  parts  the  farming  population  has  relatively  and  actually  de- 
creased. Industrial  development  has  been  the  only  real  source  of 
increase  in  population.  The  church's  strategy  does  not  yet  take 
into  account  the  needs  of  diminishing  rural  areas  in  relation  to  in- 
creasing industrial  and  village  centers. 

The  New  Day 

The  country  church  in  the  industrial  zone  is  facing  a  new  day 
and  the  weather  for  that  day  is  still  doubtful.  The  leaders,  how- 
ever, are  far  from  complacent,  and  this  holds  true  of  the  leaders 
in  these  counties.  They  lament  a  general  indifference  to  religion, 
shown  in  small  attendance  at  services,  difficulty  in  raising  money, 
and  lack  of  energy  about  church  work.  One-sixth  of  the  resident 
church  members  are  inactive.  In  the  words  of  one  of  the  min- 
isters, "lliere  are  too  many  piazza  Christians."  Many  people  feel 
that  the  inherited  equipment  of  the  churches  is  inadequate  to  present 
needs.  Living  in  up-to-date  dwellings,  while  nearly  two-thirds  of 
the  churches  have  only  one  room,  they  may  well  feel  as  David  in 
his  palace  felt  about  the  Tabernacle,  which  had  met  the  ref[uire- 
ments  of  a  bygone  pastoral  age.  Some  are  hoping  to  build  addi- 
tions; one  such  addition  is  already  completed.  Community  build- 
ings under  the  auspices  of  the  churches  are  desired  in  a  number 
of  places ;  and  in  three  communities  jilans  for  such  buildings  are 
definitely  under  way.  There  is  also  a  widesjiread  opinion  that  more 
efficient  work  could  be  done  if  churches  were  fewer.  An  attempt 
is  being  made  to  recognize  the  duties  of  the  new  age,  and  to  see 
how  they  may  be  more  effectively  performed. 

98 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 


1 


"rurbanism" 

The  town  of  Catawissa  is  a  good  example  of  rural  industrialism.  Here  are  busy  rail- 
road yards  furnishing  employment  for  a  large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants,  and  side 
by  side  with   them   fertile  fields  and   a  truly   rural   population. 


99 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

Too  Many  Churches — Not  Enough  Church  Work 

It  is  to  this  religious  situation  that  the  survey  would  particularly 
address  itself.  In  certain  respects,  the  churches  have  made  real 
progress,  but  on  the  whole  they  are  much  less  effectively  organized 
than  are  the  educational,  public  health  and  economic  agencies.  The 
definiteness  with  which  the  farm  bureaus,  for  example,  plan  their 
work,  formulate  and  then  check  up  on  their  special  projects  might 
well  be  commended  to  the  Church.  The  schools  also  have  led  the 
way  rather  than  the  churches  in  certain  forms  of  community  ac- 
tivity. Of  course,  the  schools  and  the  economic  organizations  have 
the  great  initial  advantage  of  unity  of  aim  and  direction.  The  lack 
of  this  unity  is  the  greatest  handicap  of  the  Church. 

Even  on  a  most  casual  inspection  it  is  apparent  that  Columbia 
County  has  too  many  churches.  The  eastern  states  generally  are 
overchurched  in  their  rural  areas,  but  Columbia  and  Harford 
counties,  in  the  number  of  their  churches  in  proportion  to  their 
population,  almost  double  the  average  for  the  Colonial  States.  Only 
the  contention  that  it  is  desirable  to  have  a  separate  church  for  any 
dissenting  group,  however  small,  whatever  the  grounds  on  which 
it  dissents  and  whatever  the  effect  of  its  aloofness  upon  the  religious 
life  of  the  community  as  a  whole,  could  possibly  justify  the  exist- 
ence and  maintenance  of  so  many  churches,  llieir  number  is  too 
large  from  almost  every  point  of  view.  There  is  a  larger  number 
than  is  required  simply  to  cover  the  ground.  Surely  a  scattered 
population  does  not  need  a  church  on  the  average  for  every  3.6 
sc|uare  miles,  as  in  Columbia  County,  or  for  every  283  or  308  people 
as  in  the  two  counties.  It  was  noted  that  few  churches  in  these 
counties  have  undisjnUed  access  to  as  many  as  500  actual  or  pros- 
pective Protestants.  The  average  membership  of  the  white  Protes- 
tant churcbes  is  only  seventy.  Eighty-one  churches  have  less  than 
fifty  active  members.  ( )nly  under  the  most  exceptional  circum- 
stances can  a  poj)uIation  of  less  than  1,000  be  expected  adequately 
to  equip  and  maintain  an  effective  church. 

It  is  important  to  remember  that  in  only  fourteen  out  of  the 
fifty-three  communities  is  religious  competition  absent.  Reference 
was  made  to  a  section  in  Columbia  County  where,  within  eighty 
square  miles,  there  are  thirty  churches.  A  circle  drawn  around 
Jarrettsville,  in  Harford  County,  with  a  radius  of  seven  miles,  would 
enclose  seventeen  churches.  From  several  purely  rural  neighbor- 
hoods can  be  heard  the  sound  of  five  church  bells.  Three  com- 
munities, with  a  combined  population  of  4,175,  including  residents 

100 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

of  both  village  and  country,  have  among  them  seventeen  white  Prot- 
estant churches,  or  one  church  to  every  245  of  the  population.  If 
colored  and  Roman  Catholic  churches  be  included,  these  three  com- 
munities have  twenty-five  churches,  or  one  to  every  167  people. 

Multiply  and  Divide,  or  Unite  and  Concentrate? 

The  effect  of  the  multiplicity  of  churches  in  reducing  and  un- 
wisely dispersing  pastoral  service  and  in  dividing  the  membership 
into  comparatively  small  units  has  already  been  noted.  Considera- 
tions of  financial  support  and  of  denominational  advantage  have 
controlled  the  distribution  of  churches.  Churches  and  ministers 
both  crowd  into  the  more  populous  growing  centers  where  compe- 
tition is  keener  and  where  the  most  support  is  available. 

There  are  many  other  evidences  of  the  failure  to  develop  a 
strategic  policy  of  church  promotion.  There  is  flagrant  overlapping 
of  parish  areas  by  churches  of  similar  denominations ;  there  is  also 
a  great  deal  of  overlapping  of  parishes  by  churches  of  the  same 
denomination.  There  are  six  instances  in  these  counties  of  three 
churches  of  the  same  denomination  located  within  two  miles  of  each 
other. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  churches  are,  and  have  been,  engaged 
in  what  practically  amounts  to  a  war  of  attrition.  This  is  true  as 
between  denominations ;  it  is  more  or  less  true  as  between  village 
and  country  churches  irrespective  of  denominations,  and  it  is  evi- 
denced in  the  almost  complete  absence  of  any  effort  to  develop  a 
community-wide  policy  of  religious  cooperation  and  development. 
The  effect  of  such  a  policy  of  attrition  is  evident.  A  certain  pro- 
portion of  the  churches,  which  are  strong  or  well  placed  or  have 
had  wiser  leadership  and  other  initial  advantages,  have  grow^n;  but 
these  for  the  last  ten  years  are  less  than  one-third  of  the  entire 
number  of  churches.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  total  Protestant 
membership  has  increased  in  ten  years,  more  than  one-third  of  the 
churches  show  a  net  loss,  and  the  remainder  have  simply  held  their 
own,  while  three-fourths  of  the  population  have  remained  outside 
the  Church.  In  other  words,  under  this  ruinous  system,  the  strong 
grow  stronger  and  the  weak,  weaker,  a  condition  wdiich  could  be 
remedied  by  a  round-table  agreement  that  would  suggest  working 
adjustments  between  churches  to  give  each  a  reasonable  opportunity 
to  grow  and  to  serve  the  community.  An  unfortunate  result  of  the 
present  policy  is  that  these  two  counties  are  very  unevenly  evan- 
gelized. 

101 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

Every  conclusion  of  the  survey  points  to  the  vakie  of  the  larger 
church  with  proper  equipment,  a  more  adequate  budget,  increased 
service  from  a  resident  pastor  and  a  many-sided  program.  This 
is  the  outstanding  impression,  and  the  most  needed  reforms  are 
those  which  look  to  the  development  of  such  churches.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  the  denominational  emphasis  and  the  degree  of  over- 
churching  have  combined  to  discourage  the  churches  from  attempt- 
ing any  broad  programs  of  community  service. 

The  influence  of  roads  must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  In  Columbia 
County  they  are  bad,  partly  because  of  topograi)hy  and  partly  be- 
cause of  an  unawakened  sense  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  the  tre- 
mendous expense  which  poor  roads  involve.  Better  roads  are  com- 
ing, however,  and  as  they  come  communities  will  be  brought  nearer 
together.  This  will  obviate  the  necessity  for  so  many  churches.  In 
Harford  County,  for  instance,  where  the  roads  are  good,  there  are 
already  more  than  400  families  attending  churches  at  a  distance  of 
more  than  two  miles  from  their  homes. 

To  see  that  there  are  too  many  churches  is  an  easier  matter  than 
to  determine  which  churches  to  eliminate.  Each  case  has  to  be 
decided  upon  its  own  merits.  Three  solutions  have  been  proposed. 
One  is  the  consolidation  of  the  churches  of  a  compact  circuit  in  one 
strong  organization.  Such  consolidation  would  make  possible  a 
more  economical  use  of  funds,  a  better  building,  services  both  more 
frequent  and  more  inspiring,  and  a  minister  less  overburdened  and 
better  paid.  Such  a  union  is  being  considered  in  South  Harford. 
Ministers  in  charge  of  two  other  circuits  favor  consolidation;  and 
in  two  additional  cases  ministers  believe  the  time  is  ripe  for  some 
measure  of  combined  activity.  A  second  solution  is  the  dropping 
of  a  weak  church  in  the  vicinity  of  stronger  churches,  especially  if 
these  churches  are  of  the  same  denomination.  Such  a  step  has 
recently  been  taken  in  the  case  of  the  Christian  Church  at  Joppa. 
The  surrender  of  two  other  churches  is  under  consideration.  Some 
weak  churches,  naturally,  are  really  needed ;  the  withdrawal  of  the 
small  home  mission  churches  in  Edgewood  and  Magnolia,  for  ex- 
ample, would  leave  these  communities  without  churches,  and  into 
these  hamlets  have  come  strangers  working  at  the  Arsenal.  Not 
all  neighborhoods  with  small  churches  have  as  yet  the  improved 
roads  and  automobiles  that  make  it  feasible  to  include  them  in  a 
wider  j^arish.  Moreover,  strong  loyalty  to  a  jiarticular  church  is 
a  force  to  be  enlisted  rather  than  ignored.  .Some  declining  churches 
will  doubtless  be  continued  during  the  life  of  their  su])]~)ortcrs.  A 
third  solution  of  the  problem  of  overchurching  applies  to  communi- 

102 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

ties  where  are  found  churches  of  kindred  denominations.  This 
occurs  too  frequently  in  both  counties.  Leaders  in  several  of  these 
competing  churches  seem  to  desire  some  form  of  combination. 
Average  membership  in  such  churches  would  be  about  two  hundred. 
In  one  instance,  union  would  replace  four  churches  with  one  church 
of  231  active  members. 


New  Standards  of  EfEciency 

In  conclusion  it  is  possible  to  make  certain  specitic  recommenda- 
tions based  upon  the  fundamental  conviction  that  the  policy  of  attri- 
tion is  a  policy  of  absolute  futility,  and  also  upon  the  conviction 
that,  as  people  have  begun,  even  in  the  individualistic  business  of 
farming,  to  ajiply  new  standards  of  efficiency,  so  these  standards 
can  also  be  applied  within  the  internal  activities  of  the  Church.  The 
following  suggestions  are  offered  in  regard  to  ways  of  applying  new 
standards  of  efficiency : 

1.  DENOMINATIONAL  SUPERVISION:  Each  denomination  should 
re-study  its  own  work  effectively  with  a  view  to  organizing  it  on  a 
community  basis.  That  is,  a  way  should  be  found  to  avoid  com- 
petition between  churches  of  the  same  denomination  organized  on  a 
purely  neighborhood  basis.  It  is  amazing  how  much  of  this  type  of 
competition  exists.  Circuits  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  give  a 
minister  an  opportunity  to  relate  his  life  and  work  to  a  single  com- 
munity as  defined  in  this  survey.  This  would  require,  in  most  cases. 
a  realignment  and  cutting  down  of  circuits.  It  would  be  a  little  dif- 
ficult in  Harford  County  under  existing  conditions  of  education, 
but  the  development  of  loyalty  to  the  neighborhood  church  should 
assist  the  process. 

2.  iNTER-DENOMiNATioNAL  COOPERATION :  Efforts  should  be 
made  to  arrive  at  inter-denominational  understandings  with  a  view 
to  such  a  redistribution  of  the  ministers  and  of  the  general  church 
strength  as  would  put  one  strong,  well-manned,  well-equipped 
church  with  a  resident  minister  in  each  community.  The  ultimate 
ideal,  except  in  cases  of  a  few  very  small  communities,  would  be 
for  each  community  to  have  the  full  time  of  a  resident  pastor,  a 
boon  which  only  four  communities  in  Columbia  County  now 
enjoy. 

3.  VILLAGE  AND  COUNTRY  CHURCHES :  A  closcr  relationship 
between  churches  in  the  town  and  churches  in  the  country  within 
the  same  community  is  strongly  urged.  In  a  few  cases,  villages 
have   become   marked   centers   of   country    evangelization,    but   the 

103 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN   INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

majority   liave  not  niatcrially   contriljuted  to  the  evangelization  of 
the  open  country  areas  by  which  they  are  surrounded. 

4.  FINANCIAL  methods:  Some  churches  ah-eady  employ  the 
budget,  the  envelope  system  and  the  every-member  canvass ;  and  a 
number  of  churches  are  experimenting  with  one  or  more  of  these 
systems.  Progressive  business  methods  will  make  possible  larger 
undertakings  by  the  churches.  If  the  church  families,  numbering 
approximately  5.000,  many  of  which  are  among  the  more  prosperous 
families  of  these  counties,  all  gave  systematically  according  to  their 
ability,  the  churches  would  have  at  their  command  many  times  what 
they  now  expend.  Large  funds  would  be  entrusted  more  freely  to 
a  smaller  number  of  strong  churches  doing  broadly  constructive 
work. 

5.  SUNDAY  schools:  Almost  half  the  Sunday  schools  employ 
progressive  methods  of  some  sort,  such  as  organized  classes  or 
graded  lessons.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  Columbia  County,  and 
the  importance  of  such  methods  is  becoming  more  widely  recog- 
nized. There  is,  however,  still  room  for  great  advance.  The  pres- 
ence in  the  Sunday  schools  of  many  young  people  and  adults  affords 
an  opportunity  of  which  an  efficient  church  will  do  well  to  take 
advantage. 

6.  OTHER  ORGANIZATIONS :  The  men  in  the  churches,  who  num- 
ber approximately  3,500,  have  in  the  two  counties  only  eight  organi- 
zations. These  men,  as  has  been  seen,  are  associated  in  many 
secular  organizations,  where  they  join  their  forces  to  attain  common 
ends.  The  almost  complete  absence  of  men's  societies  in  the 
churches  may  be  due  to  lack  of  clear  perception  of  definite  moral 
tasks.  The  117  women's  organizations  do  important  work  along 
financial  and  social  lines.  More  efficient  business  methods  will  set 
free  much  of  this  energy  for  labors  still  more  important.  The  133 
young  peojile's  societies,  with  2.665  members,  form  another  source 
of  ]:)Ower  that  may  be  counted  upon  in  making  ])lans  for  construc- 
tive church  work.  For  children  there  are  only  eighteen  societies, 
enrolling  in  all  317  members.  This  is  a  negligible  number  com- 
pared with  the  number  of  children  in  the  white  elementary  schools, 
and  those  enrolled  in  the  Boys'  and  Girls'  Clubs.  The  moral  is 
self-evident. 

7.  CONDITIONS  OF  PASTORAL  WORK :  Ministers'  salaries  are 
being  raised,  and  the  number  of  points  served  is  being  decreased. 
In  both  respects  there  is  much  room  for  improvement.  Although  the 
average  salary  is  large  compared  with  that  of  ministers  elsewhere, 
it   is   small   compared   with  the   incomes   of   the   majority   of    par- 

104 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

ishioners.  Eighteen  of  the  ministers  still  serve  four  points  each, 
four  serve  five  jwints  and  two  serve  six.  To  the  eighty-eight 
churches  served  hy  ministers  living  outside  the  community,  the  min- 
isters come  an  average  distance  of  eight  and  two-hfths  miles.  Gov- 
ernment ofificials  often  receive  an  allowance  for  mileage  traveled  in 
the  course  of  their  work.  The  same  arrangement  might  well  be 
applied  to  ministers. 

8.  co(")RDiNATioN  OF  ciruRCii  ACTIVITIES:  Sccular  and  philan- 
thropic organizations,  such  as  the  Relief  Committee,  the  Grange, 
the  Farmers'  Federation,  the  Red  Cross,  the  Parent  Teachers'  Asso- 
ciation, are  either  organized  on  a  county  basis  or  are  affiliated  in  a 
county  union.  In  these  fields  it  is  realized  that  coordination  is  in- 
dispensable to  the  prevention  on  the  one  hand  of  neglect  and  on 
the  other  of  duplication  of  effort.  Among  religious  bodies  there 
is  a  County  Sunday  School  Union,  and  similar  unions  coordinating 
the  Endeavor  Societies  and  the  Epworth  Leagues.  No  correspond- 
ing organization  has  yet  been  formed  by  the  churches. 

New  Tasks 

The  same  spirit  of  efficiency  needs  to  be  applied  to  the  new  tasks 
which  are  facing  the  churches. 

1.  ENLISTMENT  OF  NEWCOMERS:  Ncwcomcrs  from  states 
further  south  have  made  permanent  homes  in  at  least  eighteen 
parishes  of  Harford  County.  Some  churches — not  many — have 
drawn  a  few  of  these  families  into  church  membership.  Others 
have  some  of  the  children  in  their  Sunday  schools.  In  certain 
localities,  denominational  differences  form  a  barrier.  The  new- 
comers are  beginning  to  add  to  the  number  of  churches,  already 
too  large ;  and  in  some  cases  this  is  doubtless  inevitable.  A  wide- 
spread and  persistent  campaign  of  friendliness,  might  however, 
result  in  winning  many  of  these  strangers  to  the  churches  already 
on  the  ground. 

2.  RECRExVTION     FOR     WORKERS     AT     THE     PROVING     GROUND     AND 

arsenal:  Some  hundreds  of  soldiers  are  stationed  at  the  Proving 
Ground  and  at  the  Arsenal  in  Harford  County.  In  addition,  many 
of  the  laborers  and  clerical  workers  employed  at  these  reservations, 
who  frequently  number  more  than  2.000,  live  in  communities 
near  by,  especially  in  those  along  the  two  railways.  These  men 
need  clean  amusements  for  their  spare  time.  Church  socials  they 
would  find  too  tame.  Opportunities  for  athletics,  billiards,  bowling, 
and  the  like,   in   wholesome   surroundings,   could   be   provided   for 

105 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

them  by  the  men  of  the  churches.  A  convenient  agency  for  con- 
ducting such  activities  would  be  a  County  Y.  i\I.  C.  A. 

3.  RACE  TRACK  GAMBLING  I  This  again  is  a  problem  of  Har- 
ford County.  Connected  with  the  races  at  Havre  de  Grace,  which 
are  held  twice  a  year,  is  a  great  deal  of  gambling.  Strangers  of 
questionable  character,  coming  for  the  races,  are  boarded  in  fami- 
lies of  the  town,  even  in  families  of  church  members,  and  spread 
a  malign  influence.  Conditions  are  better  than  a  few  years  ago, 
partly  because  of  out-spoken  condenmation  by  the  ministers  of 
Havre  de  Grace ;  but  public  opinion  still  tolerates  this  evil.  This 
constitutes  another  challenge  to  the  men  of  the  churches.  On  such 
an  issue,  the  influence  of  the  churches  could  be  made  more  effective 
through  the  medium  of  a  county  organization. 

4.  ASSISTANCE  TO  RACIAL  GROUPS  :  Leaving  out  of  consideration 
here  the  migrant  workers  in  the  Harford  canneries,  whose  case  has 
been  dealt  with  separately,  these  racial  groups  are  of  two  types,  the 
negroes  in  Harford  and  the  foreigners  in  Columbia.  The  latter 
present  the  more  difficult  problem.  They  are  living  an  industrial 
rather  than  an  agricultural  life.  They  speak  a  foreign  tongue,  but 
Christian  brotherliness  is  a  universal  language  and  is  the  language 
that  the  Church  must  speak.  The  negro  situation  also  calls  for  this 
spirit.  Financial  support  is  given  by  individuals  to  the  religious 
enterprises  of  the  colored  race.  The  colored  ministers  who,  except 
in  a  few  cases,  have  not  had  the  privilege  of  advanced  education, 
might  be  greatly  assisted  by  the  white  ministers,  through  confer- 
ence, books,  and  possibly  training  classes.  A  measure  helpful  to 
this  race  would  be  the  provision  of  industrial  training  in  the  colored 
elementary  schools.  The  advocacy  of  such  a  measure  by  the 
churches  would  do  much  to  insure  its  adoption. 

5.  THE    NEEDS    OF    AN    INTELLIGENT    CONSTITUENCY  .       The    UCW 

day,  with  its  improved  schools,  its  widely  read  newspapers,  its 
Granges  and  Federations,  its  cosmopolitan  outlook  so  dearly  bought 
in  the  War,  is  an  age  of  far  higher  level  of  popular  intelligence 
than  was  ever  reached  before.  People  think  more ;  they  crave  new 
forms  of  mental  activity ;  many  of  the  young  peoj^le  are  in  college. 
At  the  time  of  the  original  survey  not  less  than  fifty-seven  parishes 
in  the  two  counties  were  represented  among  175  college  students, 
and  the  number  is  increasing.  These  students  return,  having  heard 
old  truths  expressed  in  new  words.  These  considerations  constitute 
a  special  reason  why  ministers  should  have  the  leisure  and  independ- 
ence required  for  reading  and  study.  Through  united  action,  the 
ministers  could  acquire  a  common  stock  of  the  important  new  books 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

on  Biblical  criticism,  rural  sociolog)',  and  tlie  like,  and  could  re- 
ceive light  and  stimulation   from  periodical  conferences. 

Intellectual  advance  also  sets  before  the  churches  a  series  of 
unaccustomed  tasks.  The  Sunday  schools  in  the  two  counties,  en- 
rolling 13,287  young  people  and  adults,  present  an  unrivaled  oppor- 
tunity for  directing  mature  study  along  Biblical  lines.  Institutes 
and  lectures  are  popular,  especially  if  held  outdoors,  and  away 
from  the  home  connnunity.  Of  this  taste  the  churches  could  take 
fuller  advantage,  not  only  by  making  more  use  of  Sunday  school 
institutes,  but  by  organizing  vital  courses  in  Biblical  literature, 
missions  or  Christian  social  service.  Opportunities  are  needed  for 
the  exchange  of  ideas  that  demand  an  outlet ;  the  churches  could 
provide  quarters  and  leadership  for  debating  clubs  and  popular 
forums.  There  is  great  need  for  books.  In  Harford  County  the 
County  Library  contains  less  than  one  book  to  ten  people.  In  Col- 
umbia there  are  three  public  libraries.  The  churches  could  buy 
books,  which,  after  a  period  of  use  in  ^he  branch  library  which 
should  be  found  in  every  community,  might  be  turned  over  to  the 
county  library  for  general  use.  Reference  books  for  Bible  classes 
and  teachers  might  form  a  normal  part  of  the  part  of  the  equipment 
of  Sunday  schools.  Cooperative  buying  of  books  through  a  county 
organization  of  churches  would  be  the  natural  method  for  people 
taught  by  experience  in  other  fields  to  recognize  its  economy. 

6.  WHOLESOME  RECREATION :  With  growing  intelligence  and 
greater  leisure,  there  has  come  a  sense  of  indifference,  of  boredom, 
of  dissatisfaction  with  pleasures  formerly  sufficient.  People  need 
more  cultivated  forms  of  recreation.  The  minds  of  many,  especially 
among  the  young,  are  "swept  and  garnished."  This  mood  intensi- 
fies the  allurements  of  race  track  gambling,  of  the  city's  commer- 
cialized recreation,  and  of  even  more  perilous  forms  of  distraction. 
It  implies,  therefore,  no  lowering  of  the  dignity  of  the  churches, 
that  they  should  anticipate  temptation  by  offering  their  young 
people  recreation  of  nobler  and  more  intellectual  kinds.  Such  min- 
istry has  already  come  to  be  accepted  as  a  normal  office  of  the 
churches.  The  kinds  of  pleasure  offered,  should,  however,  be 
adapted  more  generally  to  newly  developed  cravings.  There  is  a 
widespread  desire  for  music ;  the  churches  might  well  arrange  for 
choral  classes,  bands  and  orchestras,  engaging  for  these,  when 
necessary,  paid  professional  leaders.  Such  activities  would  not  only 
mean  joy,  culture,  and  training  in  cooperation  for  the  participants, 
but  eventual  enrichment  of  church  services.  There  are  many  ideal 
places  for  pageants ;  the  groves  so  often  found  beside  the  churches 

107 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

would  afford  a  beautiful  setting,  and  local  history  and  church  tradi- 
tion would  furnish  rich  and  varied  themes.  Activities  of  this  kind 
need  not  be  limited  to  single  parishes ;  they  might  be  the  joint 
undertakings  of  a  district.  Large  church  buildings,  suitable  for 
gathering- places,  are  already  found  in  most  sections,  and  combined 
action  would  make  possible  the  erection  of  community  buildings, 
where  could  be  carried  on  many  kinds  of  activity. 

Cooperation  Among  Churches 

Again  and  again  in  the  course  of  the  present  study  the  need  of 
cooperation  has  been  made  apparent.*  The  churches  have  in  com- 
mon tasks  demanding  joint  consideration  and  concerted  effort. 
They  face  common  problems,  such  as  the  multiplicity  of  weak 
churches,  capable  of  solution  only  through  agreement.  They  fight 
common  enemies.  The  secular  agencies  of  the  county  are  effectively 
organized ;  without  organization,  the  churches  will  not  long  retain 
their  inherited  ascendancy.  A  council  of  churches,  furthermore, 
would  result  not  only  in  economy  of  force,  but  in  organization  of 
moral  energy.  The  public  opinion  of  religious  people,  expressed 
through  a  confederation  of  all  the  churches,  could  banish  such  an 
evil  as  the  race-track  gambling  at  a  single  election;  the  undeveloped 
human  energy  latent  in  the  churches,  if  called  into  action  by  chal- 
lenging tasks  undertaken  on  a  convincing  scale — what  might  it  not 
accomplish  ?  The  divided  churches  would  be  organized  at  last 
into  a  mighty  army,  going  forth  in  strength  to  the  battles  of  the 
Lord. 

*  Since  the  writing  of  this  survey  two  county-wide  meetings  have  been 
held  in  Columbia  County  looking  forward  to  the  organization  of  a  County 
Federation  of  Churches. 


108 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  I 
Methodology  and  Definitions 

THE   method    used   in   the   Town   and   Country    Surveys   of 
the   Interchurch  World   Movement  and  of  the  Committee 
on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys  differs  from  the  method 
of  earlier  surveys  in  this  field  chiefly  in  the  following  particulars : 

1.  "Rural"  was  defined  as  including  all  population  living  out- 
side of  incorporated  places  of  over  5,000.  Previous  surveys  usually 
excluded  all  places  of  2,500  population  or  over,  which  follows  the 
United  States  Census  definition  of  "rural." 

2.  The  local  unit  for  the  assembling  of  material  was  the  com- 
munity, regarded,  usually,  as  the  trade  area  of  a  town  or  village 
center.  Previous  surveys  usually  took  the  minor  civil  division  as 
the  local  unit.  The  disadvantage  of  the  community  unit  is  that 
census  and  other  statistical  data  are  seldom  available  on  that  basis, 
thus  increasing  both  the  labor  involved  and  the  ]:iossibility  of  error. 
The  great  advantage  is  that  it  presents  its  results  assembled  on  the 
basis  of  units  which  have  real  social  significance,  which  the  minor 
civil  division  seldom  has.  This  advantage  is  considered  as  more 
than  compensating  for  the  disadvantage. 

3.  The  actual  service  area  of  each  church  as  indicated  by  the 
residence  of  its  members  and  adherents  was  mapped  and  studied. 
This  was  an  entirely  new  departure  in  rural  surveys. 

Four  chief  processes  were  involved  in  the  actual  field  work  of 
these  surveys : 

1.  The  determination  of  the  community  units  and  of  any  sub- 
sidiary neighborhood  units  included  within  them.  The  community 
boundaries  were  ascertained  by  noting  the  location  of  the  last  family 
on  each  road  leading  out  from  a  given  center  who  regularly  traded 
at  that  center.  These  points,  indicated  on  a  map,  were  connected 
with  each  other  by  straight  lines.  The  area  about  the  given  center 
thus  enclosed  was  regarded  as  the  community. 

2.  The  study  of  the  economic,  social  and  institutional  life  of 
each  community  as  thus  defined. 

3.  The  location  of  each  church  in  the  county,  the  determination 
of  its  parish  area  and  the  detailed  study  of  its  equipment,  finance, 
membership,  organization,  program  and  leadership. 

Ill 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN   INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

4.  The  preparation  of  a  map  showing,  in  addition  to  the  usual 
physical  features,  the  boundaries  of  each  community,  the  location, 
l)arish  area  and  circuit  connections  of  each  church  and  the  resi- 
dence of  each  minister. 

The  following  are  the  more  important  definitions  used  in  the 
making  of  these  surveys  and  the  preparation  of  the  reports : 


Geographical 

City — a  center  of  over  5,000  population.  Not  included  within 
the  scope  of  these  surveys  except  as  specifically  noted. 

Town — a  center  with  a  population  of  from  2,501  to  5X)00. 

Village — a  center  with  a  population  of  from  251  to  2,500. 

Hamlet — any  clustered  group  of  people  not  living  on  farms, 
whose  numbers  do  not  exceed  250. 

Open  Country — the  farming  area,  excluding  hamlets  and  other 
centers. 

Country — used  in  a  three-fold  division  of  population  included 
in  scope  of  survey  into  Town,  Village  and  Countr}'.  Includes  Ham- 
lets and  Open  Country. 

Toivn  and  Country — the  whole  area  covered  by  these  surveys, 
i.  e.,  all  population  living  outside  of  cities. 

Rural — used  interchangeably  with  Town  and   Country. 

Community — that  unit  of  territory  and  of  population  character- 
ized by  common  social  and  economic  interests  and  experiences ;  an 
"aggregation  of  people  the  majority  of  whose  interests  have  a 
common  center."  Usually  ascertained  by  determining  the  normal 
trade  area  of  each  given  center.  The  primary  social  grouping  of 
sufficient  size  and  diversity  of  interests  to  be  practically  self-sufficing 
in  ordinary  affairs  of  business,  civil  and  social  life. 

Neutral  Territory — any  area  not  definitely  included  within  the 
area  of  one  community.  Usually  an  area  between  two  or  more  cen- 
ters and  somewhat  influenced  by  each,  but  whose  interests  are  so 
scattered  that  it  cannot  definitely  be  assigned  to  the  sphere  of  in- 
fluence of  any  one  center. 

Neighborhood — a  recognizable  social  grouping  having  certain 
interests  in  common  but  dependent  for  certain  elemental  needs 
upon  some  adjacent  center  within  the  comnumity  area  of  which 
it  is  located. 

Rural  hidustrial — pertaining  to  any  industry  other  than  farm- 
ing within  tlie  Town  and  Country  area. 

112 


APPENDIX  I 

Population 

Foreigner — refers  to  foreis^n-ljorn  and  native-born  of  foreign 
parentage. 

Nez<'  .li)iericaiis — usually  includes  foreign-born  and  native-born 
of  foreign  or  mixed  parentr^ge,  but  sometimes  refers  only  to  more 
recent  immigration.  In  eacb  case  the  exact  meaning  is  clear  from 
the  context. 

The  Church 

Parish — the  area  within  which  the  members  and  regular  attend- 
ants of  a  given  church  live. 

Circuit — two  or  more  churches  combined  under  the  direction 
of  one  minister. 

Resident  Pastor — a  church  whose  minister  lives  within  its  par- 
ish area  is  said  to  have  a  resident  pastor. 

Full-time  Resident  Pastor — a  church  with  a  resident  pastor  who 
serves  no  other  church  and  follows  no  other  occupation  thrm  the 
ministry  is  said  to  have  a   full-time  resident  pastor. 

Part-time  Pastor — a  church  whose  minister  either  serves  an- 
other church  also,  or  devotes  part  of  his  time  to  some  regular  occu- 
pation other  than  the  ministry,  or  both,  is  said  to  have  a  part-time 
minister. 

Non-Residcv.t  Member — one  carried  on  the  rolls  of  a  given 
church  but  living  too  far  away  to  permit  regular  attendance ;  gen- 
erally, any  member  living  outside  the  community  in  which  the 
church  is  located  unless  he  is  a  regular  attendant. 

Inactive  Mend^er — one  who  resides  within  the  parish  area  of 
the  church  but  who  neither  attends  its  services  nor  contributes  to 
its  support. 

Net  Active  Memhersliip — the  resultant  meml)ershi])  of  a  given 
church  after  the  number  of  non-resident  and  inactive  members  is 
deducted  from  the  total  on  the  church  roll. 

Per  Capita  Contributions  or  Fxpenditnres — the  total  amount 
contributed  or  expended  divided  by  the  number  of  the  net  active 
membership. 

Budget  System — A  church  which  at  the  beginning  of  the  fiscal 
year  makes  an  itemized  forecast  of  the  entire  amount  of  money 
required  for  its  maintenance  during  the  year  as  a  basis  for  a  can- 
vass of  its  membership  for  funds  is  said  to  operate  on  a  budget 

113 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

system  with  respect  to  its  local  finances.  If  amounts  to  be  raised 
for  denominational  or  other  benevolences  are  included  in  the  fore- 
cast and  canvass,  it  is  said  to  operate  on  a  budget  system  for  all 
monies  raised. 

Adequate  Finaneial  System — Three  chief  elements  are  recog- 
nized in  an  adequate  financial  system :  a  budget  system,  an  annual 
every-member  canvass  and  the  use  of  envelopes  for  the  weekly 
payment  of  subscriptions. 

Reeei/^ts — Receipts  have  been  divided  under  three  heads: 

a.  Subscriptions,  that  is,  money  received  in  payment  of  annual 
pledges. 

b.  Collections,  that  is  money  received  from  free-will  ofi'erings 
at  i)uljlic  services. 

c.  All  other  sources  of  revenue,  chiefly  ])roceeds  of  entertain- 
ments and  interest  on  endowments. 

Salary  of  Aliiiister — Inasmuch  as  some  ministers  receive  in 
addition  to  their  cash  salary  the  free  use  of  a  house,  while  others 
do  not,  a  comparison  of  the  cash  salaries  paid  is  misleading.  In 
all  salary  comparisons,  therefore,  the  cash  value  of  a  free  parsonage 
is  arbitrarily  rated  as  $250  a  year  and  that  amount  is  added  to  the 
cash  salary  of  each  minister  with  free  parsonage  privileges.  Thus 
an  average  salary  stated  as  $1,450  is  equivalent  to  $1,200  cash  and 
the  free  use  of  a  house. 


114 


APPENDIX  II 
Tables 

I 

rOPULATIOX,  1890-1920,  ACCORDING  TO  THE  FEDERAL  CENSUS 

Vear                                            Harford  County  Columbia  County 

Rural  Rural                Urban 

1920    29,291  28,J49                28,000 

1910    27.965  30.185               18,282 

1900    28,269  29,810                10.086 

1890    28  993  29,496                 7,336 

II 

POPULATION  BY  NATIONALITY,  ACCORDING  TO  THE 
FEDERAL  CENSUS 

Natiz'c  U'Jiifc  Native  IVIiite 
County        Foreign-born     Foreign           Mixed  A'ative 

U'liife         Parentage     Parentage        Parentage  Xegroes 

No.       %      No.       %        No.       %        No.        %  No.       % 

Harford,  Md...    950    3.2      1,385    4.7         925    3.2      21,427    7i.2  4,604    15.7 
Columbia,   Pa.. 3,296    6.8      4,273    8.8      1,451     3         39,232    81.2  96        .2 

III 

FARM  FACTS,  1920,  ACCORDING  TO  THE  FEDERAL  CENSUS 

Harford  Columbia 

County  County 

Number  of  farms   2,399  2,603 

%  of  land  in  farms   77.4%  70.5% 

%  of  farm  land  improved   70.7%  72.5% 

Average  acreage  per  farm    91.3  83 

Average  value  per  farm  $11,213  $5,976 

Value  of  land  per  acre   $58.66  $26.47 

%   farms  operated  by  owners   80.8%  75.6% 

%       "              "          "     tenants    16.4%  22.7% 

%       "              "          "     managers  2.8%  1.7% 

IV 

RECREATIONAL  FACILITIES 

Number  of 
County  Communities  Number  of  Communities  Having 

?!^       .=  =      -.g?       ^5       2     g      =2         -«         ^ 

~ —  S'^;  5.3  o=i  --.'o        to<;  =:  u 

aa  ^.;:i         oS:  oo  ==^'-1         >-*-  a  ^ 

QS:  ^i,        Ci'^  (X,2^  C;>2.-<       O-^  K3  O 

Harford,  Md.    . .  22  5  4         2  6  16        10         4        . . 

Columbia,  Pa.   . .  31  6  4  1  6  22  8  7  3 

TOTAL    S3        11  8  3        12  38        18        11  3 

115 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

V 

NUMBER  OF  CHURCHES  ORGANIZED,  1800-1920 

Period                                                       Harford,  Md.  Coluiiibia,  Pa.  Total 

Prior  to  1800  1^  2  14 

1801-1820    2  14  16 

1821-1840    6  15  21 

1841-1860     20  28  48 

1861-1880    21  21  42 

1881-1900    9  11  20 

1901-1920    4  2  6 

Date  unknown     . .  7  7 

TOTALS    74  100  174 


VI 

NUMBER  OF  CHURCHES  ACCORDING  TO  TYPE  OF  COMMUNITY 

Type  of  Community  Harford,  Md.  Columbia,  Pa. 

Town    5 

Village     15  45 

Country    54  55 

TOTAL    74  100 


VII 

NUMBER  OF  CHURCHES  BY  DENOMINATIONS 

Deno]iii)iiition 

M.  E 

Lutheran    

Methodist   Protestant    

Protestant  Episcopal   

United  Evangelical 

Presbyterian     

Reformed   in   United   Stales.. 

Disciples    

United   Brethren     

M.  E.  South 

Evangelical  Association    

Lutheran   Synod   of  Ohio   .  . . 

Baptist,    South     

Baptist,   North     

Reformed   Ei)iscoi)al    

Friends    (Orthodox)    

hViends    (Hicksite)    

Primitive   Baptist    

Church  of  Christ   

TOTAL    


116 


Harford, 

Md. 

Coluiuhia, 

Pa. 

Total 

24 

42 
16 

66 
16 

13 

2 

15 

12 

3 

15 

2 

9 

11 

9 

5 
8 
6 
4 

14 
8 
6 

4 

3 

"2 

3 
2 

2 

2 

2 

2 
1 

I 

1 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

1 

I 

1 

74  100  174 


APPENDIX  II 


VIII 

VALUE  OF  CHURCH  PROPERTY  * 

Harford.  Md.       Coluinhia,  I'a.  Total 

No.  of  church  buildings   ....  7i  99  172 

Total  value   $568,500  $368,400  $937,000 

Average    value     $    7,789  $    3,721  $    5,448 

No.  of   parsonages    29  30  59 

Total    value     $123,050  $63,100  $186,150 

Average   value    $    4,243  $    2,103  $    3,155 

No.  of  other  buildings 13  9  22 

Total   value     $  24,850  $    4,400  $  29,250 

Average  value    $     1,912  $       489  $     1,329 

*  Land  and  income  prupcrts-  oniilled. 


IX 

SIZE  OF  CHURCH  MEMBERSHIPS 

Churclics  ivith  Total  A'o.  of 

Net  Active  Congregations  A'liiiiln'r 

Mcinbershit^  of  i)i   7'ti'o  Counties  Gro%<<ing 

0-25     41  7 

26-50    41  26 

51-100    63  39 

101-150    15  11 

Over  150   14  14 

Totals     174  97 


%_ 
Growing 
17%  ■ 
63% 
62% 
7i% 
100% 

56% 


X 

CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP,  1920 

Ifembership                                  Harford,  Md.  Cohtnilda,  Pa.  Total 

Active    5,052  7,053  12.105 

Non-resident   921  957  1,878 

Non-active   L047  670  1,719 

Total    7,020  8,680  15,702 


XI 


RESIDENT  MEMBERS  BY  AGE  AND  SEX 


Harford 

Males  over  21 30% 

Males  under  21 n% 

Females  over  21 45% 

Females  under  21    14% 

100% 


Columbia 

11% 
42% 
14% 

100% 


117 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

XII 

HOW  THE  TYPICAL  DOLLAR  IS  RAISED 

Harford.  Md.  Columbia.  Pa. 

Subscription    $  .69  $  .68 

Collection    21  .24 

Miscellaneous  .10  .08 

$1.00  $1.00 


XIII 

HOW  THE  TYPICAL  DOLLAR  IS  SPENT 

Harford.  Md.  Columbia.  Pa. 

Salaries    $  .45  $  .42 

Missions  and  benevolences   .31  .31 

All  other  expenses  .24  .27 

$1.00  $1.00 


XIV 

AVERAGE  TOTAL  AMOUNT  RAISED  PER  CHURCH 

Tozvn  Ullage  Country  County 

Churches  Churches  Churches  Average 

Harford,  Md $3,048  $2,166.07  $823.82  $1,247.64 

Columbia,  Pa 1,222.28  422.18  797.23 


XV 
AVERAGE  PER  CAPITA  CONTRIBUTION 


Harford,  Md. 
Columbia,  Pa. 


Town 
Churches 

J^illage 
Churclics 

Cou)itry 
Cliu  relics 

County 
Average 

$24.94 

$25.50 
11.88 

XVI 

$14.08 
8.43 

$16.30 
10.96 

THE  MINISTER 

Harford  Columbia 
Tozvn     Ullage  Country  Total         I'illage  Country   Total 
Churches  with : 

Resident  Pastor   .. .     4               11           17  U                26            6             .12 

Non-resident  Pastor     1                 2           2>^  36                 15           41             56 

No  Pastor   0                2            4  6                 4            8            12 

Total   5              15          54  74               45          55          100 

118 


APPENDIX  II 


XVII 
RANGE  OF  SALARIES 


Pastors  receiving 
No  salary  .  . . 
0-$500  ... 
$501-  750  ... 
751-1,000  ... 
1,001-1,250  ... 
1,251-1,500  ... 
1,501-1,750  ... 
1,751-2,000  ... 
Over  $2,000  . . 

Totals    ... 


arford, 

Md. 

Coin 

mbia,  Pa. 

Tote 

1 

2 

3 

1 

0 

1 

0 

1 

1 

3 

1 

4 

8 

13 

21 

9 

11 

20 

9 

8 

17 

3 

0 

3 

5 

2 

7 

39 


38 


77 


XVIII 

PASTORAL  SERVICE  TO  CHURCHES 

Harford,  Md.       Cohtinbia,  Pa.  Total 
Pastors  serving : 

1  point 11  7  18 

2  points  16  5  21 

3  points  4  10  14 

4  points  8  10  18 

5  points 0  4  4 

6  points  0  2  2 

Totals    39  38  77 


XIX 
SUNDAY  SCHOOLS 


Average 

Average 

Average 

Attend- 

Total 

Enroll- 

Total 

Attend- 

ance '7c   of 

No.    of 

Euroll- 

ment  per 

Attend- 

ance per 

Enroll- 

Location 

Schools 

iiicnt 

School 

ance 

.School 

ment 

Town    

5 

661 

132 

467 

93 

71% 

Village    

56 

6.377 

114 

4.013 

72 

63% 

Country    .  . . 

97 

6.149 

63 

3,765 

39 

6\% 

Total 


158 


13,187 


83 


8,245 


52 


63% 


119 


THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH  IN  INDUSTRIAL  ZONES 

XX 

SUNDAY  SCHOOL  STATISTICS 


Ml         r  c      J       c'  ,      ,    ,  Harford,  Md.       Columbia,  Pa.  Total 

Number  of  Sunda;-  Schools  having: 

Provision  for  leadership  training  2 

Efforts  to  increase  attendance  ...  25 

Organized  departments   16 

Cradle    rolls    30 


10  12 

26  51 

48  64 


58 


Home  departments   11  45  r^ 

Teacher  training  classes   5 

Sunday  school  papers    ....  38 

Libraries 22  29  51 

toclafs    """    55  67  m 

•^^'^'^'s    14  44  ^g 


12  17 

45  83 


21  2,2 

5  7 


Other  social  times  as  a  whole. ...  11 

Other  organizations   2 

Number  pupils  in  college 26  have  83  31  have  92           57  have  175 

dumber  pupds  entcnng  Christian 

^work  HI  last  10  years   9                            29                            1^ 

Number     pupils     joining     church 

P^^'*   >'^^^    •,■•••,•■•; ^"^1                        386                        577 

t  rom  how  many  churches  ?   2,^                            47                            o- 

Classes    to    prepare    for    church 

membership   25                           26                           51 

Mission   study  classes    \2                            2,7                           4<J 

Regular  missionary  offerings 27                          66                         103 


120 


UNIQUE  STUDIES  OF  RURAL  AMERICA 
TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  SERIES         TWELVE  VOLUMES 

MADE    UNDER    THE    DIRECTION    OF 

Edmund  deS.  Brunner,  Ph.D. 

What  the  Protestant  Churches  Are  Doing  and  Can  Do 
for  Rural  America — The  Results  of  Twenty- 
six  Intensive  County  Surveys 

Description  Publication  Date 

(i)     Church     and    Community     Survey    of 

Salem    County,    N.   J Ready 

(2)  Church     and     Community     Survey    of 

Pend    Oreille    County,    Washington         Ready 

(3)  Church     and     Community    Survey    of 

Sedgwick  County,   Kansas    Ready 

(4)  Religion  in  the  Old  and  New  South..         Forthcoming 

(5)  The  Old  and  New  Immigrant  on  the 

Land,    as    seen    in    two    Wisconsin 

Counties     Ready 

(6)  Rural     Church     Life     in     the     Middle 

West     Ready 

(7)  The     Country     Church      in     Colonial 

Counties      Ready 

(8)  Irrigation  and  Religion,  a  study  of  two 

prosperous  California  Counties  ....  Ready 

(9)  The  Church  on  the  Changing  Frontier         Ready 
(10)     The     Country     Church     in     Industrial 

Zones  Ready 

(11    S:    12)    The   Town  and  CountryChurch 

in  the  United    States    (2  vols.) Forthcoming 

"They  arc  fine  ficces  of  work  and  examples  of  xuhat  zvc  need  to 
have  done  on  a  large  scale." — Dr.  Charles  A.  Ellwood,  Dcpt.  of 
Sociology,  University  of  Missouri. 

"/  am  heartily  appreciative  of  these  splendid  results." — Rev. 
Charles  S.  Macfarland,  Genl.  Secy.,  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches 
of  Christ  in  America. 

Published  by  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY,  New  York 

FOR 

COMMITTEE  ON  SOCIAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  SURVEYS 

1  1  1     FIFTH    AVENUE,    NEW    YORK 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Libraries 


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